Virtual Voyager (pilot): DISPLACED
by V-Trek Collective
Summary: Imagine how Voyager might have turned out in an alternate universe, had events and characters followed a different path. Now read on as we create a whole new Star Trek universe, where anything can happen.
1. Negotiations in New Zealand

**Title: DISPLACED (1/20)**

** Writers: REBECCA KEATING (Chakotay, Torres & Tuvok), NICK LEWIS (Paris), FARI MOHAMMED (Janeway), ALLEN McDONNELL (Stadi, Wildman & Lefler)**

** Edited by NICK LEWIS**

** Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and it's associated characters are trademarks of Paramount/Viacom. This is a fan-run venture, making no money. Please leave our lawyers alone ;-)**

**V-Trek: The Alternate Adventures @ http://www.virtual-trek.fsnet.co.uk**

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**Unhappy with a new treaty, Federation colonists along the Cardassian border have banded together. Calling themselves The Maquis, these colonists continue to fight the Cardassians.**

** Some consider them heroes, but to both the Federation and Cardassian governments, they are outlaws.**

********************

Phaser fire flashes across the viewscreen, illuminating the small bridge. Consoles explode to the Captain's left, making him wrap his foot even more tightly around the base of the pilot's chair. He ducks his head slightly as sparks from the console threaten to singe his close cropped hair. At the same time he types in a new sequence. "Initiating evasive pattern Omega, mark"

B'Elanna lets loose another string of curses. "Another fuel line has ruptured. God damn it, we're barely maintaining impulse. I can't get any more out of it."

Captain Chakotay swings the ship around again. "Be creative!"

B'Elanna explodes what he's sure is a klingon expletive in his direction. "How the hell am I supposed to be creative with a thirty-nine year old rebuilt engine." _Why can't the maquis get better ships?_ she thinks to herself. Though she does secretly enjoy showing off her engineering skills.

"Maquis ship!" The grey leathery face of a mature Cardassian flashes onto the viewscreen. "This is Gul Evek of the Cardassian Fourth Order. Cut your engines and prepare to sur-" Chakotay interrupts his piloting only long enough to close the comm channel with the side of his hand.

Something shoves the ship from behind. "Shields at fifty percent" Tuvok reports from tactical.

_Damn!_ Chakotay twists a look at Torres "I need more power if we're going to make it to the Badlands."

The half Klingon engineer blinks. "Okay... take the weapons offline. We'll transfer all power to the engines."

Tuvok lifts his head and arches an eyebrow. "Considering the current circumstances, I'd question that proposal at this time."

"What does it matter?" Torres glares at him. "We're not making a dent in their shields anyway." Chakotay sighs and she turns her glare on him. "You wanted creative."

_ Not wanted, didn't have a choice,_ he thinks. _There is a difference_. "Tuvok, shut down all the phaser banks." He turns back to Torres. "If you can give me another thirty seconds at full impulse, I'll get us there."

"Phasers offline" comes Tuvok's voice.

Chakotay orders Tuvok to fire the remaining torpedoes and transfer power from those systems. The bolts of firepower shoot out of the ship's reverse cannons and inpact on the warship's shields. "Are you reading any Plasma storms ahead?"

"One" the Vulcan replies. "Co-ordinates one-seven-one mark four-three."

"That's where I'm going." The ship responds sluggishly to Chakotay's commands.

"Plasma storm density is increasing..."

Chakotay only vaguely hears Tuvok reciting the increases in density. He doesn't need to hear him. He can feel it with every move of the ship.

"The Cardassian ship is not reducing power. They're following us in." 

"Gul Evek must be feeling daring today" The Maquis watch as the Cardassian warship attempts to follow their path. A plasma discharge rips along the belly of the enemy.

"They're sending out a distress signal on all Cardassian frequencies."

Chakotay smiles slightly. "Tuvok, can you plot a course through these plasma fields?"

"Storm activity is typically widespread in this vicinity. I can plot a course, but I'm afraid it will require an indirect route."

"Good. We can use the time to make some repairs." Chakotay stands up and moves away from the helm. He nearly smacks his head on the roof as he stretches his stiff back. He needs a rest, they all do. Before he can ponder this any further though, a white light strobes through the ship, ending almost as soon as it began. "What was that?"

Tuvok's voice cuts across his thoughts. "Curious! We've just passed through some kind of coherent tetryon beam."

Chakotay's heart thumps in his chest. What if the Cardassians have developed new weaponry. "Source?" he asks, pushing the thought out of his mind.

"Unknown." Chakotay squeezes back in beside Torres. "Now there appears to be a massive displacement wave moving towards us."

"Another storm?"

"It is not a plasma phenomenon. The computer is unable to identify it."

"Put it on screen" Chakotay orders. He gazes as an ellipse of brilliant white light rushes towards them.

"At current speed it will intercept us in less than thirty seconds" Tuvok interjects.

Chakotay glances desperately across to Torres. "Anything left in those impulse engines, B'Elanna?" 

She growls something in his general direction. "We'll soon find out" Her fingers play over the console.

"It is still exceeding our speed" Tuvok cuts in.

Chakotay doesn't bother acknowledging. "Maximum power."

"You've got it already" Torres shouts.

Chakotay prays silently. _Not like this. After everything we've been through, everything we've dreamed. Don't let us lose our lives like this_.

"The wave will intercept in 8 seconds... 5."

Chakotay locks his feet around the base of the chair, his hands frozen to the control panel. He clenches his teeth, damning the Federation for the ill thought out treaty, damning the Cardassians for chasing them in here, and damning whatever explosion of nature was now slamming into them. The wave claws them open like a rotten fish until the ship streams its viscera a molecule wide into forever, into nowhere, into everywhere. _Not like this!_

**[OPENING CREDITS]**

**Federation Penal Settlement, New Zealand.**

Tom Paris finishes micro-welding a complex looking piece of machinery and closes up the cover, banging on it when it sticks. "Be careful with that, Paris" says the guard standing nearby.

Tom shoots a sideways glance to him. "I'd like to see you do this" he mutters, quiet enough so that the guard doesn't hear him.

Then another guard casually walks over and talks to his comrade in hushed tones. "Get up, Paris" his watcher says after a few moments.

"What's going on?" Tom asks, narrowing his eyes.

"You have a visitor" the newly arrived guard tells him.

"Who?" Tom can't think of a single person who'd want to visit him at this place.

"You'll find out when you get there won't you." The guard looks expressionless at him. Tom sighs, gets up from his kneeling position and goes across the walkway and down the steps, the guard behind him. He's led to the recreation area; a little unusual. Waiting by a tree is a woman in full Starfleet uniform - the crimson strip of command across the shoulders of the black jumpsuit. Light brown hair frames her face, flatteringly. As they get up to her, Tom sees four pips on her collar.

The Captain nods at the guard to leave them alone. "Captain...?" Tom says expectantly, wondering what she could want with him.

Kathryn Janeway has to admit she doesn't know what to make of the man standing before her. From what she's read of his file, Tom Paris is a first class flirt. He gives new meaning to the phrase 'a girl in every port'. He's also a first class pilot and an Admiral's son to boot. So why did he join the Maquis? Alright, Caldik Prime was a messy business, but surely he's better than that? "Captain Janeway, Mr Paris, of the starship Voyager." She extends her hand to him.

Tom shakes it warily. He's obviously suspicious of her. "Mind if I ask what the Federation wants with me now?" he asks, staring at her.

"I think the better question is what do I want with you."

"Fine! So... why are you here?"

She ignores the sarcastic edge to his voice and thinks about his question. Just on the job and already one of her crew is in trouble. Starfleet's been keeping her on her toes, but they're not going to like what she's going to say next. "I have an officer under my command in trouble, Mr Paris, and it seems you're the person to get him out of it."

"Me?" Tom is a little confused. Who's the officer, and what's their connection to him? A million and one questions race through his head. He folds his arms. "Well this is going to be interesting. Pray tell. Although I feel I should point out, Captain, that I'm not exactly in a position to get anyone out of anything right now." He gestures all around him.

Kathryn suppresses a faint smile. "Then perhaps you should begin to think beyond the box." _Enough of this_, she sobers mentally. She starts walking, Tom following to her right. "The man missing is my security chief, Lieutenant Tuvok. His assignment was to infiltrate a Maquis ship."

"Spy. Say it like it is, Captain."

She looks at him disdainfully, his insubordination starting to grate on her. "As you like. Semantics don't concern me at the moment. In any case, the Lieutenant has failed to report in for the past few days and we've recieved word that the ship was destroyed in the Badlands." She stops there, not divulging any more suspicions or otherwise, waiting to hear what Paris has to say.

"If the ship was destroyed, why do you need me?" Tom says simply, walking around the Captain. "Your spy's dead."

She looks at him, not at all put off, but she has better things to do than play games with him. "Alright, you win. We suspect that the ship was not destroyed but lost. I need your help to get him back, preferably in one piece." Tom nods but doesn't jump in to offer his help. Well fine, she more or less expected that.

"You know, Captain, I'm at a loss as to why you've specifically picked me out. I was only with the Maquis for a few weeks before I was captured. I don't know where most of their hiding places are."

"You know the territory better than anyone we've got" Kathryn admits. "Besides, the ship we're looking for is commanded by another former Starfleet officer... a man who I believe you're familiar with."

Tom's interest is definitely piqued now. "Who?"

"Chakotay" she tells him. "The two of you didn't get along very well I'm told."

Tom looks away for a moment. "That's an understatement. Chakotay will tell you he left Starfleet on principle, to defend his home colony from the Cardassians. I on the other hand was forced to resign. He considered me a mercenary, willing to fight for anyone who'd pay my bar bills." Tom pauses. "Trouble is he was right." He stops walking. Kathryn looks at him, letting him continue. "Okay Captain, I'm interested. But first I need to know one thing. I think you know what that is."

She nods slightly. She hoped she wouldn't need to play this card, but needs must. "Okay Mr Paris. You help me find that ship, I give you one get out of jail free card. That _is_ what you were fishing for wasn't it."

Tom smiles for the first time. "You read my mind, Captain."

"So I have your agreement?"

"Sure" Tom grins, "why not."

Kathryn nods. "Your position will be that of a Starfleet Observer."

"Observer?" Tom interrupts, looking pained. He paces across the grass, "Hell, I'm the best pilot you could have."

"You'll be an Observer" she says stiffly. "We're scheduled to depart from Deep Space 9 in five days. Be there."

Tom blinks as the Captain takes her leave of him. Oh well. He only has to work with her for a few days at most, then he'll be free. _Not a bad day's negotiating. Maybe I should become a diplomat_, he thinks sarcastically as he walks back over to the complex.

********************

Tom steps aboard the runabout. "Observer Tom Paris, reporting as ordered."

A woman sitting in front turns to look at him and nods. "Welcome aboard. I'm Lt Stadi. Our travelling companions are Ensigns Lefler and Wildman."

"Hello ladies" Tom says, giving the three of them his best smile.

The blond-haired Ensign smiles back and offers her hand. "Samantha Wildman, but you can call me Sam." The other two women seem less enthusiastic.

"We're taking the Rubicon to DS9 where we'll rendez-vous with the Voyager" Stadi announces. "The good news is I am in command of this trip."

"Congratulations, Lieutenant!" Tom says giving a smart alec salute to Voyager's alpha-shift helm officer. Rolling her eyes, Stadi competently gets the Rubicon on her way to DS9, though Tom is sure he could have done it better himself if he was allowed. The four of them have a few days in each other's company, so Tom takes the opportunity to try and get to know them a little better... or a lot better depending on how lucky he is. As the first day wears on though, he finds his 'batting average' slipping. Sam Wildman is friendly enough, but all his passes soar over her head, her nervousness about the prospect of holding a senior officer's position for the first time clearly overriding everything else. Robin Lefler is somewhat detached, always with her head stuck in a PADD, studying technical specifications and the like. And Janecea Stadi is the most uninterested of the lot, keen to keep things purely professional. Tom is personally not overly impressed with her either, but considers it rude to leave her out.

"So, Robin" he begins, "tell me, why did you accept the transfer to Voyager? You could have stayed on the Enterprise with your service record."

"I know that. But the Voyager is a brand new ship - new engines, new design, new capabilities and new challenges. She's bound to have some unique problems and I'm the expert who can smooth her way through them."

"Well you certainly have the confidence for it. All you want to talk about is engineering."

"Learn with your eyes, then with your hands. That's how you avoid mistakes Mr Paris."

"Exciting way to live!" he replies with sarcasm.

Robin looks back up. "Safe way to live!" she corrects.

Tom shrugs, then goes back to the cockpit. "Struck out again?" Stadi asks with a smug smile.

"Those two are studying as if it were finals time at the academy! This is turning into one long trip."

"Well what did you expect? I know you resigned but you must remember the thrill and fear of making an embarassing mistake on your new posting."

"Give it a rest, Janecea" he says, making deliberate use of her first name to annoy her. That at least is turning out to be a amusing enough diversion. He's never met a Betazoid as stiff as her. _Should get along well with the Captain_, he thinks sourly. Another four days later though, Tom is ready to pull his hair out just for the sake of doing something creative. As an Observer, he's been studiously kept from using any Starfleet computers or other ship controls more complicated than the replicator. Finally they come into view of DS9. And not before time.

"There she is" Stadi says, becoming more animated than she's been the entire trip. She points excitedly at the viewscreen. "That's our ship... the Voyager!" At first Tom and the others have a hard time picking the Intrepid class vessel out from all the other ships docked at DS9. The medium small Voyager was docked bow first at an upper pylon docking port. Shark-like in her sleekness, Tom recognized her graceful lines as those of a tightly manouverable ship. Stadi gives them all a grand 'round the ship' tour before landing the Rubicon at the assigned landing pad.

"Sustainable warp factor of 9.975, bioneural computer subsystems, 15 decks of accessible space with a crew of only 150, shuttle bay with four advanced shuttlecraft and room for four Peregrine class scoutcraft" Robin reports, having absorbed the ship systems in detail.

"Bioneural?" Sam asks.

"Artificial neural cells in subsystem packs" Stadi explains, not to be outdone by an Ensign when talking about the advantages of her own ship. "They collate and improve processing speed for all the ship's computer subsystems, especially the interlocking field geometries needed for high sustained warp speeds." Stadi had been aboard since the Voyager began her shakedown cruises almost a year ago and was very proud of her ship.

"Impressive" Tom chips in, trying to feel like part of the group. The Voyager would be home for these three women. All it could be for him is a one way ticket out of jail. He kind of regrets being apart from Starfleet, no longer a member of the team that would get to fly this beauty from star to star.

Leaving the Rubicon is a startling contrast for the four of them. Deep Space Nine is stark, dimly lit and unfinished looking to those used to Starfleet standards. The station security chief greets them as they arrive, raising Tom's hackles. The meeting is conducted politely by the others, but when Odo is asking if he can do anything for them, an impatient Tom butts in uninvited. "Yeah. Point me to the nearest bar would you?" he asks in an overly casual tone. "I need a drink."


	2. The crew assembles

**Title: DISPLACED (2/20)**

** Writers: NICK LEWIS (Quark, Paris, Sisko), PATTI KEIPER (Kim, Janeway), SONYA BRINKMAN (Tigan, Fitzgerald, T'Prena)**

** Edited by NICK LEWIS**

** Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and it's associated characters are trademarks of Paramount/Viacom. This is a fan-run venture, making no money. Please leave our lawyers alone ;-)**

**V-Trek: The Alternate Adventures @ http://www.virtual-trek.fsnet.co.uk**

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

****The Ferengi barkeep looks at the Starfleet officer on the other side of the bar. "If I may say so, it's been my special pleasure to see many new officers like yourself come through here." He smiles showing a row of pointy teeth. "Your parents must be very proud my boy. You know, on an occasion like this-"

"I'm really not interested" Harry Kim interrupts, seeing the sales pitch coming a mile off.

"Interested?" Quark feigns ignorance.

"You were about to try and sell me something, right?"

"I was merely going to suggest that your parents might appreciate a memento of your first mission" Quark replies, smile still fixed in place.

Harry puts his cup down. "And you happen to have several to choose from?"

"I do carry a select line of unique artifacts and gemstones indiginous to this region" Quark says proudly, opening a box and offering it for view. "Why quite recently, I acquired these lobi crystals from a very strange creature, called a morn."

"We were warned about the Ferengi at the Acadamy" the young Ensign explains politely.

"Warned about Ferengi were you?" Quark asks, the smile suddenly dropping off his face.

Tom Paris can't help but overhear the exchange as he sits nearby, a tankard of synthehol in his hand. _Uh-oh! Here it comes_.

Harry nods. "About your mercenary capitalism" he adds helpfully. By this point, Tom is covering his mouth with his hand to avoid laughing.

"Slurs!" Quark bellows. "Slurs against my race at Starfleet Acadamy. Who made these accusations, hmm?" he demands.

A sudden look of panic fills Harry's features. "Er... what I meant to say was-" he tries to say, but Quark is in full swing.

"Here I am trying to be a cordial host, knowing how much a young officer's parents would appreciate a token of his love on the eve of a dangerous mission, and what do I get for my trouble? Scurrilous insults!" Quark sighs and shakes his head. "Well, someone is going to hear about this!" He pulls out a PADD from under the bar. "What's your name, son?"

"My... name?" Harry asks worriedly.

"You do have one I presume?" Quark replies with a sneer.

"Kim... Harry Kim" the Ensign confesses. "But-"

"And who was it at the Academy who _warned_ you about the Ferengi?" Quark asks in a steely hard voice.

"You know... I think a memento for my parents would be a great idea." Harry backpeddles furiously as fast as he can speak, hoping to placate the angry barkeep. "These would make a great pendant for my mother."

"Or cufflinks for your father" Quark adds, without pausing for breath.

"Cufflinks... great idea!"

"They're not for sale. And you can inform your commanding officer that the Federation Council should expect an official query regarding-"

"How much for the whole box?" Harry asks desperately.

Quark appears to consider this, then presses a button on the PADD and turns it round to face Harry. "Cash or credit?" he asks, now interested.

Tom shakes his head. He can't watch this lamb being led to the slaughter any further. Besides, the guy's a shipmate, even if only for one mission. He wanders over to the two. "Dazzling aren't they" he says in mock wonder, looking inside the box. He picks one of the gemstones up and fingers it reverently. "As bright as Koladan diamonds" he adds.

"Brighter!" Quark snarls, snatching the gem back.

"Hard to believe you can find them on any planet in the system" Tom goes on.

"That's an exaggeration" Quark retorts, but Tom isn't finished.

"You know, there's a shop at the Volnar colony that'll sell you a dozen assorted shapes and sizes for a single Cardassian lek. How much are these going for?" he asks sweetly.

"We were just about to negotiate the price" Quark replies in a tone which suggests Tom's presence is not desirable at that moment. Harry looks at the sparkling display, glances at Tom, then back at Quark. Closing the box, he shoves it across the bar, back to Quark. Getting up from his seat, he turns to leave without another word.

Harry stops outside the bar and stands by the bulkheads, an ambivalance of fury and gratitude dominating his emotions. He can't believe he's found yet another chink in his carefully crafted Starfleet Academy armour. Gullibility... the worst kind. If it hadn't of been for his slick, fair haired rescuer, he would've been strapped for all he had by that "I've-been-insulted-so-fork-over-some-latinum" scam. Harry paces outside the door, waiting for Tom to appear. He feels that he should at least thank the man for his timely intervention. _Man, that guy. I'll never be as cool and anchored like a rock as he is. I'll bet he's served on a starship for months!_

Back in the bar, Tom flips the Ferengi payment for his drink and saunters out, only to find the Ensign waiting for him. "Thanks" Harry tells him, flushing red with embarrassment.

Tom grins. "Didn't they warn you about Ferengi at the Acadamy?" he asks lightly. Harry chuckles and the two make their way to the Voyager to report in. The two chit-chat on the way, Harry determined to start making new ties on this ship as soon as possible. Briefly he thinks of the light years that are going to separate him from his girlfriend Libby, but quickly moves the thought from his head. He has a new posting and new friends to look forward to. It would do no good to brood.

********************

Commander Sisko studies the file pulled up on the small screen in his hand. Ensign Ezri Tigan, a graduate of psychology. Quite intelligent, but with confidence issues. Most people fresh out of the academy are usually a little unsure of themselves, but this is something more. It's been affecting her work, mistakes have been made. Jadzia and Dr Bashir have both attempted to play down the situation in their reports, but Ben can see it just isn't working out. As it is she's been reduced to delivering PADDs around the station. "She needs to feel more involved" Jadzia had told him, "Like she's making a difference."

Ben ponders this as the doors to his office open and a a young woman steps in, standing to attention. "At ease, Ensign" he tells her. Ezri relaxes accordingly. "I suppose you'd like to know why I've summoned you here?" he asks.

Ezri gives the matter a moment's thought as if unsure of what to say before eventually giving a simple "Yes, sir."

"I've been going over your personnel file. It appears that our station isn't proving to be the ideal environment for you to excel in" he says diplomatically. "And I've formed the opinion that you'd perhaps be more appreciated onboard a starship. What are your thoughts on this, Ensign?"

Ezri thinks about the question for a moment, trying to come up with the proper response. On one hand she feels like perhaps a starship would be a better place for her. Doing simple busywork isn't her idea of fun and that's not why she joined Starfleet. But on the other hand, she knows some of the people here on DS9 now and is just starting to make some real friends. Suddenly moving to a new location would mean that she'd have to start all over again. But above all else, one question jumps out in her mind, demanding attention.

"Permission to speak freely, sir" she asks in a hesitant voice. Sisko nods, steepling his fingers together as he studies her. "Are you not happy with my performance as of late, sir? I'm getting the feeling that I've displeased you in some way. And if that's the case, I would like to know about it so that perhaps I could strive to improve myself and the job I'm doing here on DS9... sir." She blushes, aware that she just blurted all of her insecurities out in front of her commanding officer. But she also needs to know the truth from Sisko, whether she likes what he has to say or not.

Ben breathes out uncomfortably. He can see the worry in the Ensign's eyes, but she does seem to want the truth. How much truth is it safe to give her though? "Ensign, I'm sure that you could do well in the service, but... unfortunately I don't think it's going to be here." He gets up and paces behind his desk. "DS9 can be a foreboding place at the best of times, and with the recent developments regarding contact with the Dominion, it could get even more foreboding." Ben thinks about his meeting with Admiral Necheyev and Commander Shelby in just a few days. With any luck the Romulan Government will have given their permission for the use of cloaking technology on the Defiant prototype. If the Dominion are going to be as 'difficult' as promised, they'll need ships with real teeth.

He glances at the Ensign waiting patiently and turns his attention back to her situation. He'll have to blunt here, he can see no other way. "I need to know that I can rely on the ability of every man and woman on this station if the situation should turn volatile. But in your case I don't know that I can." He sees her crestfallen expression. Walking around his desk and sitting back down on the edge of it, he thinks back to his own early days in Starfleet. "Believe me, Ensign, I know what it's like. First assignment after graduation, you're eager to please but nervous as hell that you'll do something wrong." Ezri blinks and nods. "The trick is not to let that fear take over. Alright, you've made some... mistakes, but learn from them. Don't let yourself be buried under the weight of every failure. Use the experience to become a better officer."

Ezri nods, doing her best to hide her disappointment. She wishes she could have done something differently. Something so that she wouldn't have been a disapointment to the Commander. But that is obviously not to be. Gathering what's left of her dignity, Ezri swears to herself that no matter what, she's not going to lose it in front of her superior. She's going to leave with her head held high. "Sir, thank you for being so honest with me." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "And I think you may be right. I think maybe a change is in order. Maybe a new job on a starship is exactly what I need right now." Sisko nods. He seems to be pleased with her response. Then Ezri thinks of something. "Um... sir? You never mentioned which starship you were talking about."

"There's a ship currently docked which is scheduled to leave soon on a search and rescue mission. Its chief medical officer has requested more personnel for his team when they return. If you're willing though I can transfer you aboard right now. I think the mission would be good experience for you, plus it'll give you a chance to settle in."

Ezri nods, a smile gracing her lips. She's not sure why, but all of a sudden this change of location is really starting to sound like a wonderful idea! And she'll have a chance to start fresh and make a place for herself aboard this starship. "Thank you, sir. I'd really appreciate it." Then she asks the one question that she's been wanting to ask since she came in. "Sir, could you tell me the ship's name?"

Ben smiles. "She's designated the USS Voyager. The Intrepid class ship docked at upper pylon two."

Ezri's smile grows wider. Voyager... She likes the sound of that. "Permission to go get packed for the trip, sir."

"Permission granted. I'll see about getting everything in order for your arrival on Voyager." Ben extends a hand for her to shake. "Good luck, Ensign."

"Thank you, sir" Ezri grins sheepishly. "I'm sure I'll need it."

Ben inwardly winces at her throwaway depreciating remark. He hopes that Captain Janeway can bring the best out of her, otherwise she'll never rise beyond Ensign. "I know you'll be fine, Ensign. Dismissed!"

Ezri turns and hurries out the door, barely noticing as it whooshes shut behind her. As she makes her way over to the turbolift, her mind is already whirling with lists of what she'll need to take with her. _Only the essentials. I can arrange to have the other things sent later_. Once she reaches her room, she quickly packs a bag with five regular uniforms, one dress uniform and some of her favorite off-duty clothes. She also grabs a few momentos and personal items that she can't bear to leave behind, even for a short trip. The rest of her things fit into two cases and she quickly makes a call to arrange for them to be sent to the Voyager once they get back from their mission.

That taken care of, Ezri looks around her now bare room. She can no longer even tell that someone lived here. It makes her a little sad to realize that she probably won't be coming back here for a long time. Shouldering her bag, she leaves her room for the last time. As she walks down the halls, she sees a few people that she knows and stops to inform them that she's leaving. Goodbyes are exchanged, along with promises to keep in touch, but it all seems a little hollow to Ezri. As if they couldn't care less whether she stays or goes. She heads for upper pylon two, nervous about this new phase in her life, but determined to see it through. Something tells her that this is going to be one of the most important things she's ever done. 

********************

Kathryn blinks, looking out of the window in her ready-room, then back at the console fixed into her desk, the screen detailing the file of one Ensign Harry Kim. He shows a lot of promise, but his teachers at the Acadamy had noted his tendency for anxiety, especially when confronted with authority figures. Always helps to know a little bit about who you're going to be talking to before you meet them. A few moments later, the door chime twinkles.

Harry stands outside, waiting nervously. What will she think of him? What type of Captain is she - strict and authoritarian or easy-going and approachable? So many questions. _ This is it_, he thinks as he hears a voice telling him to enter. He walks inside, feeling like he's just been summarily sent to an inquisition. _She's just your C.O_, he reminds himself. _It's not like she has your life in her hands... not yet anyway_. He doesn't know what to do with his hands so he leaves them behind his back. "Captain Janeway... you wanted to see me? Uh, I signed in as Starfleet reques... as... you requested." He clears his throat, trying to hide his apprehension. He tries a different approach - one which he can't screw up. "Ensign Harry Kim reporting in as ordered, sir."

"Mr Kim..." Then Kathryn sees his tenseness. "At ease, before you sprain something." She allows herself a small smile. A genial quip is as good an ice-breaker as any. She sees him relax a little, his hands moving to his sides. "Ensign, despite Starfleet protocol, I don't like being addressed as sir."

"I'm sorry... ma'am?" Harry queries.

"Ma'am is acceptable at a crunch, however I answer best to Captain. Have a seat, make yourself comfortable." Kathryn sits back down and returns to perusing the data on her terminal.

_She's got my file pulled up?_ Harry realizes with a shock. _She's found something wrong, I know she has_. He fidgets subtly with his fingers as he sits in the chair across from the Captain's desk.

Kathryn's eyes flick up from the screen. "Care for some coffee? I know one would be a godsend for me right now. You wouldn't believe what it's like getting a launch in order."

Harry takes the hint, but shoots out of his chair to the replicator a little too eagerly. "Can't be much worse than a simulation spec run. Ah, how do you take yours? The coffee I mean." _Brilliant Harry. You're quite the conversationalist_, he thinks sarcastically to himself.

Kathryn's eyes are back on the screen. "Thank you, Ensign. Black, double strong" she says without looking up. She accepts the cup Harry hands her with a polite "thank you" and continues reading. Silence stretches into a minute, Harry getting more and more nervous as every second ticks by. Then she suddenly turns the screen off and faces him. "What's on your mind, Ensign?" she asks. "I asked you here for us to get to know each other a little better. This isn't a review or an interview, the ops post is yours. I think I made the right decision giving that station to you. What I see here further convinces me of that decision." She leans back in her chair. "So... tell me about yourself. I don't see any hobbies listed."

"Captain?" Harry says, a little uncomfortable at her sudden familiarity.

"I make it a point to have good ties with my bridge crew" Kathryn adds, perhaps sensing his tentativeness. "To know what everyone likes and dislikes, on or off duty." She smiles again. "I'll start shall I?" She doesn't wait for an answer before speaking again. "Well... there's tennis. I like cave diving quarries. And I spin a mean game of velocity."

Harry can't help staring. _This... from a superior officer?_ "Well, er... I... I like to practice the oboe."

Kathryn props her chin in her hand. "Musical? Very good. I used to dance when I was younger." She gestures at Harry as if to say 'your turn again'.

Harry sits up straighter, trying to think up an impressive reply. "I... like studying quasar incongruities in stellar cartography" he offers. "The binary spectrum in their doppler's field I find very beautiful... mathematically speaking."

Kathryn doesn't miss a beat. She sips at her coffee. "Mmm, I know what you mean. Last month I wrote a paper on just such a phenomenon and how they might affect helm trajectory patterns in subspace."

Harry's jaw drops. That was just the snafu he'd been kicking around in his head for months. Only someone else had beaten him to it already. "I'll have to read that sometime, Captain."

Over the course of the next half hour, Harry's nervousness steadily fades as he begins to see her more as a fellow officer and less like his immediate superior. By the end of their talk, he's calm and confident... and Kathryn has accomplished her goal. She now knows his true personality characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. And she extracted them in a way that was painless for the Ensign. She stands, feigning a fatigued stretch. "Ensign, I've a bridge diagnostic to head. Care to assist me from ops? Only until 10:00. I know you have a game with Ensign Burns booked in the holodeck. A pirate ship battle isn't it?

_She knows about that? I wonder if she knows my perferences in cabin environmental settings too_, Harry wonders. "Uh, yes Captain. She wants to know how to slough oceanic cross currents in a schooner with two mainstays only. I thought the best way to do that would be to show her."

Kathryn laughs low in her throat. "Sounds like fun."

"Well... you can join us if... if you like" he adds, coughing to clear his throat.

Kathryn holds up a hand and shakes her head. "Duty calls, Ensign. But thanks for the offer anyway." Her eyes glint mischieviously. "I do run a holonovel of a Victorian nature once in a while, but I have a feeling I won't see that kind of R&R for quite some time. Shall we get to the bridge?" Harry nods, letting her precede him out of the door.

********************

Ezri's own meeting with Janeway had gone well and now she was supposed to report to the ship's doctor. Until they get back from their mission in the Badlands, medical staff is in need of all the extra hands it can get. But for the life of her she can't work out where sickbay is located. _I'm lost_, she tells herself. _Great... just perfect_.

She's about to swallow her pride and ask the next crew member for directions when she finally uncovers the elusive room. She feels like jumping for joy, but restrains herself as a Starfleet officer leaping around in the middle of sickbay would look pretty strange to say the least. Ezri looks around her, spotting the doctor and nurse going about their daily routines. "Excuse me" she calls out, walking over to stand next to them. "Pren?" she then cries excitedly, recognizing the Vulcan nurse from Starfleet Acadamy. She and T'Prena had become friends when Ezri was taking a nurse's aide class as part of her Counsellor training.

"Nurse T'Prena is aware I prefer a certain level of formality in sickbay, Ensign...?" the doctor queries with an admonishing stare.

"I'm Ezri Tigan" Ezri says contritely. "Captain Janeway sent me to see you. She said that you were under-staffed and might be able to use me."

"Nurse T'Prena?" Dr Fitzgerald asks in a curt tone of voice.

"Ensign Tigan and I were at the Acadamy medical center together, Dr Fitzgerald" T'Prena tells him. "Trill seem to share the human propensity for expressing emotion with undue excess, but she is a capable counsellor and an excellent nurse's aide."

"Very well." He turns back to Ezri. "Ensign Tigan, as a member of the medical staff on Voyager I will expect you to comport yourself as a professional clinician and officer in all public forums. If you can manage to do that and you're as good as Nurse T'Prena reports you to be, we will get along fine. If not you will find yourself transferred off this ship at our next port of call. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes Dr Fitzgerald, message received loud and clear" Ezri replies, blushing slightly. She's just gotten here and already it looks like she's made a bad first impression on the ship's doctor!

"Excellent! The ship will be departing early tomorrow morning. I suggest any personal departure details you need to take care of be your priority. Once we enter the Badlands region of the Federation/Cardassian border, I will require you to be present in sickbay as we're likely to suffer turbulence and receive minor casualties. Until that time comes I will be expecting you to make yourself familiar with the medical equipment... all of it." Fitzgerald gives his orders with a hint of lecturing in his tone.

"Yes Doctor. May I be excused?"

"You are dismissed, Ensign."

When the sickbay doors close behind her, Ezri winces at her faux-pas. This is going to be a long mission.


	3. Halfway across the galaxy...

**Title: DISPLACED (3/20)**

** Writers: ALLEN McDONNELL (Tuvok, Cavit, Stadi, Rollins & Fitzgerald), FARI MOHAMMED (Janeway & Carey), NICK LEWIS (Paris), PATTI KEIPER (Kim), SONYA BRINKMAN (Tigan, EMH)**

** Edited by NICK LEWIS**

** Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and it's associated characters are trademarks of Paramount/Viacom. This is a fan-run venture, making no money. Please leave our lawyers alone ;-)**

**V-Trek: The Alternate Adventures @ http://www.virtual-trek.fsnet.co.uk**

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

****_There is no pain!_ The mantra mentally repeating over and over is the only consciousness Tuvok has right at this moment. His mission to infiltrate the Maquis ship commanded by the former Starfleet Lt Commander, Chakotay, had been going like clockwork. Then the displacement wave had appeared and swept over the little ship, flinging it into unidentifiable space near some large station. Once B'Elanna had the warp core stabalized and the ship was no longer in danger, some kind of transporter effect had snatched all of them, taking them to... to where? All he can remember is being restrained in position, a large needle looming towards him. _There is no pain_, Tuvok thinks again, trying to break his consciousness free so that he can assess the situation. _There is no painnnnnnnn_...

******************** 

**Next morning. **

_USS Voyager. Intrepid class, NCC 74656. An engineering work of art_. Kathryn Janeway marvels at the ship. _And mine to command_. Truth be known it was her dream come true. It was anyone's dream come true to be Captain of a ship like this. Her first command - she wonders if she's up to the task. Her gaze finds its way to the stars. To this day they still intrigue her. Seated on the sofa in her quarters, she thinks about her ship. She's now met most of the crew - all eager, enthusiastic Starfleet officers. It will be a pleasure to be their captain... once they become accustomed to her that is. Her eyes drift to the photo sitting on her desk. _Ah Molly, it's too bad they don't allow pets on starships anymore_. She misses the lovable mutt.

"Bridge to the Captain" pipes a voice from her commbadge.

"Janeway here."

"Captain, Tom Paris is aboard."

Kathryn pulls her thoughts together. _And so we begin!_ "Acknowledged!" As she rises from the sofa and makes her way to the bridge, she feels a heightened sense of anticipation in her soul. _I wonder what's in store for us_. As the doors swish open, she nods to her first officer.

Lt Commander Cavit returns the gesture and turns his attention to the helm. "Lt Stadi, clear our departure with operations and take us away" he orders.

"Aye sir. Ops has cleared us, thrusters engaged." Silently and smoothly, the USS Voyager glides away from Deep Space Nine, leaping into warp after attaining the required distance. The ship then starts speeding towards the Badlands.

********************

Tom walks into the mess-hall for a light snack and immediately sees Cavit talking quietly with Harry. _Telling him all the gory details about me no doubt_, he thinks, now resigned to the prospect of social isolation. He reaches the replicator. "Tomato soup" he says wearily, putting his hand on the computer. Cavit looks up and sees him. Tom smiles briefly for appearances sake, then Cavit turns his attention back to the Ensign.

"There are fourteen varieties of tomato soup available from this replicator" drones the computer voice. "With rice, with vegetables, Bolian style, with pasta, with-"

"Plain" Tom interrupts before the computer can go through the entire list.

It beeps once. "Specify hot or chilled."

_Oh for Christ's sake_, he thinks to himself. "Hot" he says a little louder. "Hot, plain tomato soup."

The replicator materialises his order and he collects the plate. The first officer gets up and leaves as he sees Tom wandering over to Harry's table. Tom give him an innocent 'got a problem?' look as they pass each other. As he sits down, Tom can see Harry's accusing stare. "I thought it wouldn't take long" he drawls.

"Is it true?" Harry asks.

"Was the accident my fault? Yeah, pilot error. Took me a while to admit it though." Tom takes a sip of the soup and immediately makes a face, dropping his spoon. "Fourteen varieties and they can't even get plain tomato soup right" he says in disgust.

"He said you falsified reports" Harry says, ignoring his last comment. Tom nods. "Why?" Harry asks.

Tom shrugs. "What's the difference? I lied."

"But then you came forward and admitted it was your fault?" Harry now looks confused.

Tom sits back in his seat. "I'll tell you the truth, Harry. All I had to do was keep my mouth shut and I was home free... but I couldn't. The ghosts of those three dead officers came to me in the middle of the night and taught me the true meaning of Christmas." Harry sighs impatiently at the sarcasm. Tom looks bored, as if he's told this story a hundred times. "So I confessed. Worst mistake I ever made, but not my last. After they threw me out of Starfleet, I went out looking for a fight and found the Maquis." He snorts in derision of himself. "That didn't last long. I was captured barely a month later and given a one-way ticket back to Earth... straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect two-hundred credits."

Harry looks thoughtful. "It must have been tough, especially being the son of an Admiral."

Tom looks grim. "Frankly I think it was tougher on my father than it was on me." He gets up suddenly, picking up his barely touched plate of soup. "I know the Commander told you to stay away from me and you know what? You should listen to him. I'm not exactly a good luck charm." He starts to walk away.

Harry thinks about what's been said and turns to face the departing man. "I don't need anyone to choose my friends for me."

Tom turns to look at him, a little surprised at his announcement. But before he can reply his commbadge chirps into life. "Janeway to Paris, we're nearing the Badlands. Report to the bridge immediately."

"On my way, Captain" he replies. Harry gets up from his seat and follows him out. 

********************

"Captain, we're on the course supplied by the Cardassians" Stadi reports as Tom and Harry step onto the bridge from the turbolift.

"Very well Lieutenant." Kathryn walks over to the tactical station and glances over at the two. "Mr Paris, any idea where Chakotay could have taken his ship?"

Tom studies the area of space displayed. "If the plasma storms didn't destroy them, I'd guess they'd try to get to one of the class M planetoids in the Teracov belt."

"Assessment Lieutenant Rollins?" Kathryn asks her acting tactical officer and security chief

"We're not detecting any resonant transients from a warp core breach. Judging by the storm activity at the time they would have been pushed in... this direction."

Kathryn nods. "Number one?"

"Helm, set a new course to match the heading being relayed from tactical" Cavit orders.

"Aye sir, under way at one quarter impulse." Stadi presses all the right buttons and the ship starts to turn onto it's new course. As she begins to dodge plasma streamers, Tom winces thinking how much better he could pilot the ship if he had the chance. Kathryn has barely time to get comfortable in the centre seat when a beeping is heard from ops station.

"Captain, we're being scanned by a coherent tetryon beam!" Harry reports.

Kathryn twists round in her seat. "A tetryon beam?" she says, puzzled. "Source?"

"Unknown, but it's very powerful!" The ship shudders from a stray plasma ribbon. "A displacement wave has now appeared" Harry continues, checking his readings. "It's closing rapidly on us from bearing 306.7!"

"On screen!" Cavit orders loudly. Rollins makes the appropriate adjustment in his controls and suddenly the wave fills the viewscreen.

"Captain, we may be able to disperse it with a graviton particle field" Rollins reports.

Kathryn looks back at the viewscreen. "Do it!" she says, then looks to Stadi. "Start moving us away from it, Lieutenant. We can't be too careful."

"Aye Captain, new heading 41.180!" Stadi replies.

"Initiating graviton field!" Rollins states.

Seconds later, Cavit looks at the console on the arm of his chair. He turns to the Captain. "No effect on the wave."

"It's still closing. Impact in thirty seconds" Harry reports, an edge to his voice.

"Captain, I've taken the ship up to full impulse. I can't shake it off." Stadi now looks worried.

"Red alert" Kathryn orders. The ships light immediately dim and the alert siren starts. She taps her commbadge. "Engineering, I need warp!"

"We have to clear the plasma storms first, Captain" Chief Edison reports. "Warp would be suicide in here."

"Time to impact, fifteen seconds" Harry says.

"How long till we clear the Badlands?" Kathryn asks quickly, leaning forward in her chair. Cavit's is now empty, the Commander back up at tactical.

"Forty-five seconds" Stadi says desperately. "We're not going to make it, Captain."

"Eight seconds to impact!" Harry shouts.

Kathryn presses the intercom button on her chair arm. "All hands, brace for impact!" she says loudly as Harry counts down...

It's as if the hand of God has caught the ship, carelessly flinging it aside. Voyager lurches, then rocks and spins out of control. The tactical console Cavit is clinging to suddenly explodes. Then just as Stadi cancels the ship's spin, the helm console feeds back and goes up in sparks too. In main engineering, Chief Edison loses her grip on the upper core railing and plunges headfirst onto the deck below.

********************

In sickbay the cellular scanning interface blows, spraying Dr Fitzgerald with hot, sharp fragments and throwing him heavily into T'Prena who was standing beside him assisting with a diagnostic. Fitzgerald clenches his teeth in agony and opens his eyes to see his nurse bleeding profusely from a panel fragment which has pierced her throat. Clawing his way over to her, he clamps his hand over the gushing throat wound. "Computer...... initiate emergency... medical... hologram" he gasps.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency" a bald-headed man asks as he phases into existance.

"Throat" Fitzgerald says with his last breath, trying to save T'Prena's fading life.

********************

Kathryn looks around as fires burn everywhere, Her head throbs and her throat is gagging on the smoke from the explosions. There are electrical shorts everywhere. She sees Stadi's prone form and hurries over, feeling for a pulse. It's faint. "Captain to sickbay" Kathryn coughs thumping her commbadge. "Dr Fitzgerald, respond!" There's no answer. Apprehension takes hold.

"Sickbay here."

Kathryn sighs with relief, but she doesn't recognise the voice. "Who is this?" she asks.

"This is the Emergency Medical Hologram, Dr Fitzgerald is dead."

_Damn, this can't be happening_.

"Engineering to bridge."

_What now?_ "This is Janeway, report."

"The warp core is destabilising, Captain. And the Chief is dead!"

_This is happening. Even a nightmare couldn't be this bad._ "Commander" Kathryn shouts, calling for her first officer. Then she sees him lying, almost hidden behind the ruins of the tactical console. _No! _ "Computer, beam Commander Cavit and Lieutenant Stadi directly to sickbay." She hopes the EMH knows what it's doing as the two figures disappear. As she stands up, she notices other figures stirring behind her. "Lieutenant Rollins, you have the bridge." she coughs again.

Rollins shakes the cobwebs from his head. "Yes Captain."

"Engineering, I'm on my way" she says, realising her comm channel is still open. As she jogs to the turbolift, she sees Harry Kim shaking his head groggily. "Ensign, get to sickbay and see what you can do." Harry looks up, barely having time to nod before she enters the turbolift and the doors slide shut.

As Harry strides to the second turbolift, Tom trots up to him. He can't just stand around the bridge looking lost, not at a time like this. "Wait up Harry, I'll come with you. If it's as bad down there as it is up here, you're gonna need all the help you can get." Harry nods and they both head off.

********************

Everything is chaos in main engineering as the Captain steps off the lift. A haze drifts throughout the room and teams of engineers hurry around putting out electrical fires.

"If we can't repair the damage, we'll have to eject it."

Kathryn is unsure who shouted as Lieutenant Carey and Ensign Lefler are both close by. As it is she's more concerned by the state of the warp core. At impulse they'd hardly reach Tuvok in time to do any good. "That's not an option" she says in a loud voice above the noise of desperate activity.

"We haven't many options left, Captain!" Carey says, now seeing her.

"Then we'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way. Ensign Lefler, lock down the magnetic constrictors. We're going to hand-seal those micro-fractures one by one." Lefler immediately understands and carries out her orders. Kathryn gestures Carey over as a laser-welder is slapped into both of their hands.

********************

Ezri slowly pulls herself up into a sitting position on the floor. She raises her hand to her forehead which stings to the touch. Her fingers come back sticky with blood. Rising somewhat unsteadily to her feet she places her other hand on the wall to steady herself and tries to recall what happened to her. She can remember a red alert being called. She'd started to rush to her post in sickbay, the ship had lurched, then... darkness. _Must have got thrown into the wall a little too hard_, she guesses. Upon getting her bearings, she resumes her journey to sickbay, aware of the red lights still flashing.

As she gets there, she sees the EMH frantically trying to assist T'Prena, Cavit and Stadi. The hologram looks up briefly from his work. "Ensign Tigan" he states, correlating the face with the file in his memory, "where have you been? We have casualties."

"I..." Ezri starts, but the hologram then sees the gash on her forehead.

"Never mind" he interrupts. "More wounded will be arriving momentarily. Take your position."

As Ezri goes to collect her instruments, her eyes widen at the sight of her friend, T'Prena, lying on the biobed. "What happened?" she cries out.

"Severed cartroid artery and massive blood loss" the EMH responds as if he's merely discussing the weather. "Even with artificial blood plasma, she will be in a healing trance for a few hours." He walks over to a tray for a hypo.

"And Dr Fitzgerald?" she asks, now coherent enough to notice his slumped and disfigured form on the floor.

"Third degree burns and terminal cranial damage. It's a miracle he managed to activate me before he expired."

Ezri struggles to take all this in. "Expired?" she yells angrily. "He was a human being, not some piece of worn out equipment, you... you..."

"Calm yourself Ensign" the holographic doctor says as the first of what will be many casualties start to stream in. Ezri summons up her training and quickly falls into the role of assisting this strange doctor by tending to two of the new arrivals. Minutes later, two officers stride into sickbay.

"Tom Paris and Ensign Kim reporting to assist" Tom declares.

The Doctor looks up at him. "Mr Paris, I'll need you to triage patients as they come in. Ensign Tigan and myself will tend to the critically injured, you and Ensign Kim take care of the rest."

"Aye sir" Tom replies, not knowing who this man is, but recognizing his authority in this emergency on an instinctive level.

Harry watches as Tom expertly grabs a medical tricorder and gets to work. He feels out of his element. His place is on the bridge, not wrist deep in gore. He drags Tom over to one side while the fair-haired 'Observer' scans the room in a mental triage assessment. "Tom" he whispers, "I'm not so good at stuff like this. I have a tendency to empathise a little too much with someone else's pain... if you know what I mean." He points to the floor, pantomiming a faint.

Tom doesn't even blink as he smacks a hypo into Harry's palm. "Harry, you're going to be stopping that pain, okay? Feel good about that. Now just inject the dosages at the base of the throat when I tell you. We're going to be visiting everyone in the room the Doc hasn't seen."

Harry feels himself being pulled over to the nearest biobed. He can barely contain his stomach. It's a young woman wearing an Ensign's pip, her face shredded from shrapnel. Instinctively his fingers find her weakened grip and he hears himself murmuring encouragement to her while Tom assesses her condition. Tom stops the active haemorrhaging with a dermal cauterizer. "Twenty cc's Harry."

Harry injects the medication and immediately the woman relaxes and actually smiles up in gratitude at him. Harry feels an unexpected surge of warmth as she drifts off into a sedated sleep. He is making a difference here in spite of his bewilderment. He sets the biobed to send her vitals to the EMH's database and covers her with a thermal sheet.

Harry makes it a point to stay close to Tom and do whatever is asked of him in the triage efforts unfolding in sickbay. The thought of fainting never even occurs to him the whole time. Then it becomes time for the EMH to get into more thorough treatment of the patients Tom has prioritized for him. The two officers wait for him to tell them what to do next.


	4. Medical emergencies

**Title: DISPLACED (4/20)**

** Writers: PATTI KEIPER (Kim, EMH & Suspiria), NICK LEWIS (Cavit, Paris & Torres), FARI MOHAMMED (Janeway & Lefler), SONYA BRINKMAN (Tigan)**

** Edited by NICK LEWIS**

** Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and it's associated characters are trademarks of Paramount/Viacom. This is a fan-run venture, making no money. Please leave our lawyers alone ;-)**

**V-Trek: The Alternate Adventures @ http://www.virtual-trek.fsnet.co.uk**

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

****Stadi's breathing at that moment suddenly becomes strident and desperate. The woman loses consciousness again. Harry looks over to the EMH who is still wrist deep in the surgery of Nurse T'Prena's throat repair. "Doc, we need you over here. Lieutenant Stadi's having trouble breathing."

The EMH speaks without glancing up. "Well then, now's your chance to shine. I can't leave just yet."

Harry frustratedly grabs a cart full of medical equipment and pulls it near Tom who has raced over. Harry notices that Tom doesn't move Stadi's head and neck positioning straight away, but first scans her C-spine with the med tricorder, looking for injury. "There's no sign of displacement. Go ahead Harry, see if tilting her head back helps any while I get this ready.." Tom prepares an EOA airway, fitting it to a laryngoscope. He gets a good airway, but notices that she has blood and other fluid bubbling thickly in her trachea. Then she gives up breathing altogether. Harry looks at Tom in alarm. Tom gives him a slender tube which hisses air into itself by a vacuum pump. "Suction that out, quickly"

Harry doesn't like what he's seeing as the Lieutenant's pallor starts to darken with hypoxia. Desperately he does as Tom orders, grimacing at his own ineptness. "I got it... I think."

"Good" Tom says. "Now make sure her head doesn't move an inch while I get this in place." Tom deftly threads the EOA into Stadi's esophagus and inflates the balloon syringe. "We need this to keep her from vomiting and getting debris into her lungs from the digestive tract." At Harry's paling features he adds confidently, "And then we can ventilate her without problems. Tape that up will you Harry?" He points to her mouth. "Around the tube so it doesn't slip... Yeah, that's it." Harry awkwardly finishes the task. Tom turns back to the EMH. "Doc, how long has Stadi been in arrest?"

"Two minutes, five seconds. She still has a pulse" the hologram responds calmly. "You're doing fine, Mr Paris. I'll be there shortly." The Doctor is finally suturing up the incision in T'Prena's neck.

"Hurry" Harry urges.

"I've stabilised the Commander" Ezri announces from across the room.

The Doctor strides over and looks Cavit in the face. "How are you feeling?"

The Commander winces. "Like hell!"

The Doctor nods without missing a beat. "You will, but you're over the worst." He tells Ezri to move onto other patients, then walks across to where Harry is now delivering breaths through Stadi's airway via an ambu bag, squeezing life giving oxygen into her lungs. Harry smiles when her skin starts to pink up and her vital signs improve. Tom is elsewhere, dealing with the new arrivals. Casualties are coming in from all over the ship and sickbay is rapidly filling up.

"I see you're taking care of the matter nicely, Mr Kim. Good work." He looks at Stadi's readings though and frowns. A hemathorax on the left side, collapsed lung and she's bleeding internally into her chest cavity. The IVs won't hold her for long. "She needs surgery" he announces. Harry is alarmed and momentarily stops his ministrations. "Keep going" the Doctor tells him. "If she stops breathing again, even surgery won't save her."

Harry attends to Stadi with renewed effort as the Doctor preps for surgery. _Hang in there, Stadi_, he thinks to himself. _I got you covered. Don't even think about dying on me_.

********************

Captain Janeway and Lieutenant Carey work for what seems like an eternity, but eventually the last micro-fracture is sealed. "Ensign Lefler, if you'd do the honours" Kathryn says hopping up onto deck again.

As Carey gets clear, Robin restarts the core. After a few moments she smiles. "Preliminary readings indicate it's stable."

Kathryn allows herself a sigh of relief. "Lieutenant Carey, you're in charge for the moment. Inform me of any new developments. I'll be on the bridge." But first she has a detour to sickbay to make. Kathryn walks out of engineering, back towards the turbolift. _That was a bit more than I'd have liked on my first day_, she muses. She steps into the turbolift and the doors are about to close when a crewman hurriedly enters. "Deck five" she says as the doors do close this time. As she idly glances at the crewman beside her, a sparkling effect suddenly envelops him and the man vanishes right in front of her eyes. _What the...?_

********************

The skeleton staff in sickbay are inundated as more and more people flood in. Soon there are too many to handle. People begin to die, including two officers on either side of Harry and the Doctor. Through it all though, Harry never leaves his place, breathing bagged oxygen into Stadi like a robot. He tries not to see or hear anything but the life in his hands. Death isn't going to come to his patient... not today. Then fate reveals her hand. Janecea Stadi expires ten minutes later despite the Doctor's best efforts.

_I tried so hard_, Harry thinks as he massages his cramped hands and the Doctor draws a sheet over the Lieutenant's features. _But it just wasn't good enough_. His eyes narrow with anger. _Just wait until I get at whoever's responsible for this_.

Tom returns, unaware that they've lost Stadi until he sees her covered body. He immediately regrets the verbal barrage he'd given her in the shuttle. She didn't deserve this. "It's not your fault, Harry" he says gently. "I saw you breathing air into her like a trouper." Harry shrugs despondently. "Give yourself a chance" Tom continues. "You are making a difference here you know. We'll save the next one, you'll see."

"Maybe" Harry replies mechanically. When he looks up though, Tom is gone. He looks around. "Tom?" Then a startled expression comes over him as he sees a crewman vanish in a stream of light. The effect is not unlike a transporter, but faster and more fluid in nature. Around him, other people begin to disappear in the same way, then he feels an unusual sensation coming over him. "Doct-" But the effect spirits him away before the word can be spoken.

The Doctor, perplexed at this anomaly, taps his commbadge. "This is the Emergency Medical Hologram speaking. I gave no permission for anyone to be transported out of sickbay." When he turns around he finds sickbay empty save for himself. "Hello?" he asks when he receives no reply. "Sickbay to bridge?" He sighs. "I believe someone has failed to terminate my program. Please respond."

********************

One minute Tom is trying to give Harry a pep-talk, the next he finds himself in what appears to be a garden. A pair of horses graze nearby and what looks like a large farmhouse can be seen in the distance. "Doctor?" he shouts when he sees no-one around. "Harry?" He checks the tricorder which is still in his hand. _Odd... very odd_. He fixes it back to his belt and jogs over to the farmhouse, hoping to find somebody who can tell him just what the hell is going on. If he doesn't get back to Voyager, more people are going to die.

********************

Ezri is in the middle of running a tissue regenerator over a burns victim when she feels a strange tugging sensation. Her head starts to swim and she collapses to her knees, her eyes screwed up. When she opens them again she finds her surroundings have changed, drastically. Jumping to her feet quickly, she looks around and finds that she's standing in a grassy field next to what looks like an old Earth farmhouse. "Hello?" she calls out, turning in a complete circle. "Anybody here?" She's about to give up on finding anyone when she spots a tall man in Starfleet uniform walking through a nearby garden. It takes her a second, but she manages to place him as one of the people helping her and the EMH in sickbay. She waves her arms over her head to gain his attention. "Hello!"

Tom turns as he hears a woman's voice in the distance. He eventually spots the speaker on the other side of the garden, just past a tall cedar tree. He runs over and sees she's wearing a Starfleet science uniform. Her face looks strangely familiar. "Are you from Voyager?" he asks. Any other time and he'd be thinking how pretty she looks, but his appreciation of the female form has taken a back seat in his mind considering they were at medical emergency alert before he was brought here... wherever here is.

Ezri nods in answer to the question, relieved at not having to be alone in this strange place. "I'm Ezri Tigan. I was helping the Doctor in sickbay when suddenly I felt giddy and then... then I was here."

_Sickbay, that's where I remember her from. She stabilized the Commander_. "Have you seen any more of the crew?" he quickly asks her. Inside, he's wondering if the whole crew has been transported here or if it's just the two of them.

"No, I haven't seen anybody..." Ezri trails off when she realizes that she's hearing some kind of musical instrument playing nearby. "What's that?" she asks, starting to walk towards the sound.

********************

The Doctor sighs once more. "Computer, state the location of Captain Janeway."

"Captain Janeway is no longer on this ship" the computer replies.

"Where were my patients transported to then?"

"Unable to determine based on available data."

The Doctor gives up. All he can do is busy himself with determining the extent of casualties. He locates each deceased crew member on board Voyager and has them beamed to sickbay to determine the cause of death and update the information within the medical database. He idly wonders what to do when the task is completed though. What can a computer program do to pass the time?

********************

B'Elanna Torres is sitting on a stile, surpringly calm amidst the unreality she's been wandering for the past few hours. Sure she'd been a bit pissed at first, kicked a cow or two... got kicked back. But she'd eventually run out of things to take her temper out on. Soon after she'd found this farmhouse. The people had seemed welcoming, so she'd decided to rest up a bit and wait for the others to find her instead of busting a gut for them. She sips a tall glass of clear liquid which has a lemon tang to it as she watches the farmhouse's occupants get their little party underway. As she puts her glass down, B'Elanna at last sees something familiar in the distance. To her irritation though, it's not one of her Maquis colleagues. _Starfleet... it figures._

Harry glances at the banjo player sitting on the farmhouse steps. It's eerie. His fingers are moving faster across the strings then his own could ever do over the oboe keys. "Thank god I've found someone real" Harry says as he walks up to the woman. "According to this, all of the people here are holograms."

"You've only just found that out?" B'Elanna's voice drips with sarcasm.

"Well... yes" Harry tells her, embarassed. "I only just woke up in the barn though." When the woman doesn't reply, he sticks out a hand thinking introductions are probably in order. "The name's Harry Kim."

B'Elanna rolls her eyes, but decides to play along. "B'Elanna Torres." She grips his hand and squeezes it hard.

Harry flexes his fingers a little as she releases him. _Ow! Firm handshake_. "Listen, you haven't seen any ah... starship crew like me around here have you?"

B'Elanna is about to tell him 'no' when she sees two more uniformed people come from the gardens to her left. "There's two behind you right now" she tells him sagely.

********************

Ezri looks a little surprised as she descends on the farmhouse. A huge party is going on with people laughing and dancing to some sort of guitar sounding music. It reminds her of something she read about in her Earth history class... a square dance? Looking back over her shoulder at the other officer behind her, she hisses. "Hey... um... whatever your name is, come take a look at this!"

"My name is Tom Paris" he informs her, walking over to see what she's looking at.

Ezri smiles. "Tom, got it." She points to the throng of people dancing. "What do you make of this?"

Tom pulls out his tricorder and begins to scan the area again. "Well one thing's for sure, they're not alive. This scan says they're holograms, but the technology looks different from anything we have."

Ezri frowns. "Why would someone make some elaborate hologram and beam us right into the middle of it? It makes no sense." She looks over Tom's arm at the tricorder. "Look, it's picking up life signs. Two of them over there." She looks over to where her finger is pointing, squinting against the sunlight. She can make out two forms - what looks like a klingon woman and a human man... and the man is wearing Starfleet colours. She nudges Tom. "Do you recognize either of them? The man looks familar, but I can't quite place him."

Tom smiles as he hears the man shout out. "It's Harry." Seeing Ezri's bewildered look, he explains. "Harry Kim. He was helping out in sickbay too." As they both walk over, Tom recognises the Klingon in Maquis garb too. B'Elanna Torres. Only half Klingon really - fiery, but good fun to be around. During his time on the Liberty he'd seen her pull them out of enough scrapes to know she's an engineering wizard. "Harry, glad to see you made it in one piece." He smiles in B'Elanna's direction too before turning back to the Ensign. "Do you have any idea where we are? This looks like Earth, but my tricorder's giving off some weird readings... like we're in some kind of giant holodeck."

A slightly disoriented Captain Janeway walks up to them un-noticed. "That's a question I'd like an answer to as well." She's not glad to find that there are other members of her crew here. Although she could've guessed by the way the others had started to vanish around her once she'd reached deck five. "I'd also like to know just who has the nerve to beam us off our ship." Kathryn glances over to B'Elanna. "At least we've found what we were looking for. B'Elanna Torres of the SS Liberty I presume." _Now where is Tuvok_, she thinks.

"How do you know my name?" B'Elanna asks, immediately suspicious.

"Long story and not one I have the time to tell." Kathryn turns to her crew. "Now, let's see what's under this simulation." Pulling out her phaser, Kathryn fires at the wall of the farmhouse. Either she'll get a look at what's behind that wall or she might make whoever created this fantasy irate enough to illicit a response. Neither of these things happen though. As the energy beam hits the wall, she disappears once again.

"Captain!" Ezri cries, taking a step forward. But she's gone. She looks from Tom to Harry who are the only ones that seem to have their own tricorders. "What happened to her? Were there any energy readings?"

"Already on it" Tom says, flipping open his tricorder again. The device is certainly getting its use today. He shakes his head. "Wherever the Captain's gone, it's beyond the tricorder's range. Possibly beyond the hologrid... assuming this thing works like the holographic systems we're used to."

Harry nods. "Confirmed. I can't get a reading on the Captain's lifesigns at all. They're being masked somehow and I'm detecting interference from the barn. Just what the hell is going on around here?"

"I honestly wish I knew, Harry" Tom says. He looks around. "We need to work out a way to get out of this thing. Any ideas?" He directs the question to all three people, but looks at B'Elanna to see if she's still the wizard he remembers.

Ezri shrugs. "Maybe it's a little silly, but has anyone tried simply ending the program? If this really is some sort of hologram, then it's got to have a stop button or something, right? Maybe some kind of command override..." Ezri sighs. This kind of thing isn't really her forte. She's much better with people than with machines. If only they knew who was behind this, then she might be able to do more to help. She could figure out motives and reasons with people, but feels a little outclassed right now. _Maybe it's just left over insecurities from DS9_.

"Computer, end program" B'Elanna says suddenly. Nothing happens, as she expects. "I tried that six hours ago" she tells Ezri simply. "As for the barn, there may be some sort of dampening field coming from there which limits scanning range. I can go over and take a look... that's if you trust me to."

Tom is about to reply when Harry pipes up. "Tom, I'm getting something here. One of these people is exhibiting positive lifesigns. I don't know why I didn't detect it before." He turns the tricorder and looks up. "There! The one with the banjo. All the holograms seem to be congregating around him. Maybe he has a hand in all of this."

"If not he might at least know something" Tom agrees. He turns back to B'Elanna. "See what you can do with the dampening field, we'll question the natives." He realises he hasn't actually got any authority to give orders, but hopes he sounds like he knows what he's doing. B'Elanna nods once at him and sets off towards the decrepit looking barn.

Harry sees the Captain's phaser lying in the straw and scans it. The weapon shows evidence of transporter trace signatures on the handle from when her captain's grasp was torn away from it. The tachyon decay is minimal, which means the beam orientated on a destination not too far away, within a couple hundred metres radius or so. He shows the readings to the others, then they make their way over to the steps of the farmhouse where the banjo player is sitting. Harry clears his throat. "Excuse me, but could you tell us exactly why we're here and why all of this" he gestures around them, "has been created?" 

There's no answer.

"Our Captain has just disappeared in a transport beam to a location nearby" Harry tries again. "Do you know anything about that?"

The banjo-man shakes his head in irritation as if a fly is buzzing his ear. It's like the beings in front of him aren't completely there in person and he has to work to understand what's being spoken to him. After a long moment, the man's eyes finally rest on the three Starfleet crew. "Too impatient. The mistress will see you when she's ready."

Tom steps forward. "Look" he tells the banjo-man impatiently. "If you know something, you'd do well to tell us."

The man stops playing and looks at the three through narrowed eyes. "If that is how you want it." With that, he swipes the air with his hand and Tom, Harry and Ezri are suddenly whisked away in the same frighteningly alien transporter effect.

********************

The three reassemble into a nightmare. As far as the eye can see, Voyager crew are strung on sterile lattice work-lab tables and draped with meshing. Their arms are flung out and dangling with an unnatural unconsciousness. The new arrivals find themselves immobilized in the same manner and each face a descending needle probe, unerringly zeroing in on their abdomens. Harry looks at the oncoming needle in horror. "What's going on here?" he yells, fighting his bonds. He sees the Captain still alive and breathing next to him on another table. "Captain? Can you hear me?" She doesn't reply.

Then he sees a face, looking into his own with a clinical detachment. The face looks like that of a young girl. "More specimens? We shall see if you prove to be as useful as the Vulcans."

"Who are you?" Harry asks in trepidation as the needle gets ever closer.

"I am Suspiria" she says simply and disappears from Harry's sight. He desperately tried to shift his body away from the instrument but it relentlessly drives in, pushing against mesh and skin, then finally stabbing inside his body. Harry remembers screaming in primal terror before blacking out in a strange sedative's artificial night.

********************

B'Elanna turns her nose up at the smell inside the barn as she rechecks her readings. Yes, there's definitely faint signals coming from some kind of matrix processing device behind the back wall. "Looks like I've found your hologrid power source, Tom" She smiles. It's good to see him, but she wonders why he's wearing that uniform again. He never went into any great detail as to why he was thrown out of Starfleet, but seemed sure he'd have nothing more to do with them. As she considers the implications she turns to leave, but stops as she sees a young woman from the farmhouse at the entrance.

"Why are you still here?" the woman asks.

"I don't know, you tell me" B'Elanna throws back flippantly. She tries to walk out but the woman throws her arm out, blocking her exit. "Move aside" B'Elanna tells her dangerously.

"I don't think so." And with that the woman backhands her, throwing B'Elanna across the barn with impossible strength. She slams into a wooden support beam, cracking it.

She gets up giddily. "Want to play rough?" she snarls. "I'll show you rough." She charges the woman and succeeds in wrapping her hands round her throat. The woman headbutts her though and her grip loosens.

The woman forces B'Elanna to her knees. "Do not interfere" she hisses and slaps her. B'Elanna suddenly feels the ground disappear and drops down, landing heavily on what feels like deckplates. She sits up, feeling the salty taste of blood in her mouth. Blinking and shaking her head, she looks around to see the familiar sight of the Liberty's bridge once again.


	5. Grand Theft Starship

**Title: DISPLACED (5/20)**

** Writers: NICK LEWIS (Torres, Chakotay, Seska, Hogan & Vorik), ALLEN McDONNELL (Tuvok, EMH)**

** Edited by NICK LEWIS**

** Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and it's associated characters are trademarks of Paramount/Viacom. This is a fan-run venture, making no money. Please leave our lawyers alone ;-)**

**V-Trek: The Alternate Adventures @ http://www.virtual-trek.fsnet.co.uk**

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

****On the bridge of the Liberty, numerous flashes herald the arrival of disorientated Maquis crew. B'Elanna swings around in her chair having spent the last few minutes scanning the array and triangulating their stellar position. "Welcome back!" she says curtly, her cut lip still bothering her.

Chakotay registers the words and nods in acknowledgement. "What happened? After the energy wave hit, all I remember is waking up in a garden, then about twenty minutes later arriving back here."

_Only twenty minutes?_ _Then why was I left kicking my heels for hours?_ _Probably another thing to thank my Klingon side for_, she thinks bitterly. "Well sit down, because I think you're in for a few surprises" she tells him drily.

Chakotay looks puzzled, but lowers himself into the command chair anyway. "What have you got, B'Elanna?"

"Well" she starts, checking her instruments once again, still scarcely able to believe them, "it looks like we've been in limbo for nearly ten days now."

"Ten days?" Chakotay says in disbelief. He looks at his bridge-crew. "Does anyone remember anything from after the energy wave hit?" He gets a collective shaking of heads. _What could have been happening to us in all that time and why can't we remember?_ he thinks to himself.

"If you think that's unbelievable, listen to this" B'Elanna says. "It seems the energy wave displaced us in space. We're about seventy-thousand light years away from the Badlands, right on the far side of the delta quadrant."

"B'Elanna, that isn't funny" Seska says frowning.

B'Elanna turns on the Bajoran. "Does it look like I'm joking?" she shouts angrily. Chakotay stares at her. B'Elanna contains herself. "Seventy-thousand light years, you can check it for yourself" she says defiantly. Seska sits at her ops-station and does just that, eyes widening when the truth hits her.

"Okay, now that that's established, how do we get back?" Chakotay asks.

"Same way we came" B'Elanna asserts. "There's beings on the array parked outside that were quite eager to get rid of me when I started nosing around their hologrid. I'm guessing they're the ones that brought us here. I say we go back inside and make them send us back."

"If they have the power to bring us all this way and then wipe our memories of the last ten days, I don't think there's a lot we're going to be able to do if they refuse" Chakotay says, thinking the situation through.

"You want us to stay out here?" B'Elanna counters.

"Of course not. But we need more information about who we're facing and certainly more firepower if it comes to that."

"Well I don't know about the information, but I think we have the firepower covered" Seska pipes up with a glint in her eye. "There's a Federation ship alongside us, totally empty."

"Federation?" Chakotay queries.

B'Elanna blinks. "I saw some of their personnel on board the array. From the way they were conducting themselves, I think they're just as stuck as we are." She keeps the information that Tom was amongst them to herself, knowing that he and Chakotay didn't see eye to eye to coin a phrase.

"The Cardassians must have talked the Federation into sending a ship after us" Chakotay concludes. He turns to Seska. "And you say it's empty?"

"Empty and begging to be reappropriated" she smiles.

Chakotay thinks about it. "Okay, we beam across. Seska, ready the transporters." He gets up and starts walkinng off the bridge. "B'Elanna, Tuvok, you're with me." He turns though when he receives no answer from the Vulcan. His tactical position is empty. "Anyone seen Tuvok?" he calls.

B'Elanna frowns. "I thought I hadn't seen his dour face around. Where is he?"

"Maybe he's still on the array" Seska offers.

Chakotay pauses. "Maybe" he murmers.

"Well, even more reason to go back in and kick their sorry asses from here to Grethnor" B'Elanna comments. "Let's go, I want to take a look at this ship Starfleet sent." Chakotay smiles and nods at his chief engineer. They both walk to the makeshift transporter room - really some converted crew quarters, fitted out with a small control station and three pads.

Chakotay looks at the console operator. "Transport us directly to their bridge" he orders. Both he and B'Elanna have their phasers drawn, ready for the any unexpected hinderance or resistance. He feels the familiar tingling sensation as the beam takes hold. They materialise on Voyager's bridge and take in their surroundings.

"The first thing we should do is to assess if there's damage to any key systems that would stop us taking her out" B'Elanna says after she's convinced the bridge is empty.

Chakotay nods in agreement. "After that, use the ship's scanners to try and detect Tuvok. It's possible he may still be aboard the array and I'd like to bet this ship can pick him out better than the Liberty can."

"I'll get to work then" B'Elanna replies.

********************

Tuvok becomes aware of a new sensation, that of a transporter beam activating. Quickly fighting his way to consciousness he discovers he can no longer feel any pain, only the cool sensation of satin bedclothes on his naked skin. Opening his eyes he sees a sumptuously appointed bedchamber with himself centred on a king size bed, silken wall coverings and soft pillows scattered about. As he sits up and scans the room visually, the only door opens and three elfin featured young ladies enter.

_Welcome_, one of them thought at him, _I am Enn_.

_Welcome_, the next sent to him, telepathically, _I am Sia_.

_Welcome_, the last thought, _I am Nah_.

"Where am I?" Tuvok asks.

_This is the reproductive center. We have been chosen as your partners for this cycle_, Sia sends.

"Chosen in what way?"

_Mistress Suspiria found you for us, to give us children who can survive and prosper on the surface of our world once more. With your assistance, our three-hundred generations of entrapment in this subterranean cavern will come to an end_.

"A logical desire. But why do you think I could suceed in fathering children with your species? You know nothing about me and I know little about you."

_Mistress Suspiria has searched long and hard for our ideal partners. Making sure we are compatible in every way. Now that she has found you let us begin_, Nah thinks, climbing onto the bed.

_Yes, we are near the end of our cycle_, Enn sends, also climbing up. _This will be pleasent for all of us if you co-operate_.

Feigning acquiescence, Tuvok stretches his arms out and gathers the three young ladies into a mutual hug. Sliding his hands to Enn and Sia's shoulders, he gives them a neck pinch then shifts to Nah before she can broadcast any cry for help, telepathically or otherwise. Gently he lowers the three of them to comfortable positions on the bed. The skin to skin contact had opened their minds to his and he now knows a great deal about the Ocampa as they call themselves, despite the briefness of their mental contact. Their desire to bear his children is very real and very intense. They can only conceive once in their lives and those lives only extend to twelve Terran years in duration. In many ways these three are going through a hormonal surge similar to a Vulcan during Pon Farr.

Certain that they are unharmed and resting comfortably, Tuvok finds his clothing neatly folded on a small table and gets dressed.

********************

B'Elanna is satisfied that the Voyager is operational. It took a battering but it's ablative armour protected it from the worst of the damage. "The ship isn't a hundred percent, but it's still in better shape than the Liberty. The systems seem to be powered by something other than isolinear chips too. I haven't seen anything like it before, but the response time is much quicker."

"Looks like we have ourselves a new vessel then." Chakotay is privately impressed with the Voyager as well. _Starfleet must have made some improvements since I left_. "Have you scanned the array for Vulcan lifesigns yet?"

"Just doing that now" B'Elanna replies. "Stand by." After around half a minute though, she frowns. "No sign of him. There's still shielded areas which even these sensors can't penetrate though."

Chakotay nods thoughtfully. "Are there any planets nearby?"

B'Elanna taps a few more pads. "Mid range sensors detect a class L planet orbiting a G-type starsystem." She looks up at Chakotay. "What are you thinking?"

"That we'll need a larger show of force if we're going to convince the owner of this array to send us back to the alpha quadrant."

B'Elanna licks her lip again. "I'll say" she says bitterly, wishing she could get her hands round that girl's neck again. _Hologram or no hologram, she..._ Then her fingers fly over the ops controls again. "Hold on. This is interesting."

"What is?"

"The array just shot out some kind of energy pulse towards the class L planet."

"Can you ascertain it's purpose?" Chakotay asks.

B'Elanna shakes her head. "Not from this distance."

Chakotay stares at the console readings. There's no further activity from the array. "We're going to that planet" he says decisively. "I have a feeling that whoever's there will know about our mysterious kidnapper." He turns to Hogan sitting at helm, the rest of the Liberty crew having transported aboard in pairs after the all clear was given. "Plot a course and take us out, Hogan."

Hogan does as instructed, but the moment he tries to engage thrusters his station suddenly shuts down. "Computer's not responding. It's cut power to helm controls."

Chakotay halts in mid-stride and turns to Seska sitting at tactical. "Can you transfer helm to your station?"

"Hold on" Seska mutters, tapping pads, then her station cuts out too. "What the hell?"

The ship is thrown into the eerie glow of red alert. "Authorisation denied" comes the computer's dulcet tones. B'Elanna springs to her feet, realising the ship isn't going to be such easy pickings after all.

"B'Elanna!" Chakotay shouts above the red alert siren.

"I thought it was too good to be true" B'Elanna spits, looking at the engineering display. "Looks like the computer's identified us as hostiles. All propulsion and weapons systems have went offline."

Chakotay curses and runs over to the Klingon engineer. "Can you get them back?"

"I can try, but any more tampering and the computer might set-off other defensive measures against us."

"Who has authorisation to override this defensive mode?"

B'Elanna thumps her controls as they flicker and starts working desperately. "Any of the senior officers, but that doesn't help us."

"Maybe it can. Can you hack into the memory dump and clone authorisation?"

B'Elanna sighs and starts tapping again. "Possibly, but the codes also require retinal scan. How can we get around that?"

Chakotay has to admit he's stumped there and the loud siren isn't exactly conductive to his thinking. It's then that a solution comes over audio. "Hello? This is the doctor in sickbay. Why is the ship on red alert?" comes a confused voice.

"The doctor" Chakotay and B'Elanna both shout in unison and race off. The turbolift won't open though, so B'Elanna wrenches the access panel off the jeffries tubes. "Seska, you have the bridge" Chakotay says just before he disappears inside.

********************

As Tuvok strides down an otherwise deserted hall, he recognises Ensign Vorik from the Voyager as he walks towards him. "I greet you Vorik. Live long and prosper" he says in the traditional greeting.

The young Vulcan's face betrays a moment of surprise at the sight of the undercover officer Voyager had been sent to retrieve. But his training quickly kicks in and he hides the emotion behind an expressionless face. Did Tuvok see his slip? "Peace and long life, Lieutenant Tuvok" he replies in the expected counter-greeting. He lifts an eyebrow. "I had... not expected to see you here. Were you given 'companions' also?"

"Indeed" Tuvok replies, pretending not to have noticed Vorik's brief flash of emotion.

"I was informed that an entity known as Suspiria had sent me here to serve as a genetic donor to this race called the Ocampa" Vorik explains. "I learned much about their culture from my contact. Their minds are quite open. They are complex but short lived beings. The surface of their world was rendered into a desert approximately eight-hundred Federation standard years ago."

Tuvok nods. "I learned the same. It would also seem that this Suspiria has been testing many species throughout the centuries in order to find the most compatible match. It's possible that the entire crew were subjected to tests, which we were the only ones to pass. Tell me, is the Voyager here?"

"We were following your trail into the Badlands region of space" Vorik tells him, "when a displacement wave of extreme magnitude caught the ship and deposited it here. Captain Janeway was called to engineering to direct emergency warp core repairs. I cannot recall anything further."

"Interesting. How many Vulcans were on Voyager at the time of these events?"

"Myself and Nurse T'Prena."

"Then I suggest we look for Nurse T'Prena. She may require our assistance, and if we three are all that remain we must unite our resources."

"A logical course of action" Vorik agrees and the two set off in search of T'Prena. 

********************

"I thought there were none of the Voyager crew still aboard" Chakotay says, crawling in the confined space.

B'Elanna, just ahead of him, arrives at a junction and starts taking the stepladder down. "There must have been something wrong with internal sensors. Something I missed." B'Elanna is worried though. She's sure that those systems were fine when she checked them. She jumps onto the floor and proceeds to open up the hatch leading down to the next deck.

Chakotay finishes climbing down and slips through the hatch, his feet searching for the rungs of another ladder and finding them. "Don't try to 'persuade' him too hard will you. Just because we only need a retinal scan, it doesn't mean you can rip out his eyes."

"The thought never crossed my mind" B'Elanna says innocently, but both she and Chakotay know it had.

As they exit the jeffries tubes and head down the corridor to sickbay, B'Elanna scans ahead with her tricorder. "Damn it, I'm still not reading any lifesigns."

"'Could the Doctor be masking them somehow?" Chakotay asks.

"'I honestly don't know, but I intend to find out." With that, she and Chakotay stride into sickbay where they find the Doctor running scans amidst a morgueful of corpses. ''Doctor!'' Chakotay calls out.

"Finally, someone's answered my communications" the Doctor says. Then he gets a good look at them. "Wait a minute, who are you? Where's Captain Janeway? What's going on here?"

''The Captain isn't available at this time'' Chakotay replies. Maybe he can bluff the man.

"Not available?" the Doctor queries.

B'Elanna looks at her tricorder in surprise. "Chakotay, he's a hologram!" she exclaims.

"Of course I'm a hologram!" he says brusquely. "An Emergency Medical Holographic System to be precise. Now I'd appreciate an answer to my question. I don't recognise either of you from the crew manifest. Who are you and why are you here? Are you responsible for all of this?" He gestures to the bodies littered around sickbay, then stands stiffly with arms folded and a stern expression on his face.

Thinking quickly, Chakotay answers. "Doctor, I'm Captain Chakotay of Starfleet Special Services. My team has come aboard the Voyager to prevent her from being captured by hostile forces until such time as your remaining crew can be recovered."

"Oh, I see" the Doctor says, relaxing. "Well I should point out that as the name of my program implies, I am really for emergency use only and should be deactivated as soon as a suitable replacement can be found. Do you have a doctor in your team, Captain?"

"I'm afraid not, Doctor."

"Then I shall have to finish the crew autopsies and record the death certificates myself."

"How far have you got?" B'Elanna interjects.

"All but these four have been recorded." The Doctor gestures to the four biobeds.

"Computer, deactivate Emergency Medical Hologram" B'Elanna orders. The Doctor flickers into nothingness as the computer follows the pre-programmed command. She turns excitedly to Chakotay. "We're in luck. The computer doesn't know that these four are dead yet. I can alter their medical records to accept our retina prints as theirs, stating that a rescan was required due to ocular injuries."

"Good idea, get right on it." Chakotay has to admit he hadn't thought of that.

Within minutes, B'Elanna is recognized by the main computer as Lt Commander Edison, Seska as Lieutenant Stadi and Chakotay as Dr Fitzgerald. Using these false personas they quickly establish limited control of ship's systems, including main power, environmental control and navigation. Unfortunately the weapons arrays require some work performed on them to become operational, but before long Voyager is on its way to the L-class planet.


	6. Memory and mystery

**Title: DISPLACED (6/20)**

** Writers: PATTI KEIPER (Kim, Suspiria & T'Prena), NICK LEWIS (Janeway, Paris & Cavit), CHRIS DEVLIN (Rollins, Darcy, Donaldson & Gunn), SONYA BRINKMAN (Tigan)**

** Edited by NICK LEWIS**

** Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and it's associated characters are trademarks of Paramount/Viacom. This is a fan-run venture, making no money. Please leave our lawyers alone ;-)**

**V-Trek: The Alternate Adventures @ http://www.virtual-trek.fsnet.co.uk**

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

**** Harry slowly wakes from limbo. As his eyes adjust to the light, he finds himself in a place that's brightly lit in white; very sterile. He props himself up on the med-bed he's apparently been placed on and suddenly realises his uniform is gone. Confusion sets in as he feels the odd texture of the white robe that now adorns him. _What the...? _He remembers very little about what has happened to him. A blinding ellipse of light from the viewscreen, bracing himself for a collision, then...

As he moves to scratch an itch, he cries out in diguest as his fingers encounter a grotesque pustule on his skin. "What are these things?" he says out loud. He jumps down off the bed, swaying slightly in his unsteadiness, then walks over to a wide door that appears to be the only way out of this... ward. He tests the servo mechs which surprisingly open under his pressure.

A corridor lies beyond, but Harry is forced to duck back inside when he sees a moving shadow coming towards him. He looks for his commbadge hoping to contact the ship, but finds it dissected neatly on an exam tray near his pillow. _Damn! I've got to get back to the Voyager._

The doors part and a slight young blonde-haired girl, exuding an aspect of dangerous agelessness enters. She moves directly to Harry and grabs his chin, peering into his eyes. "You are making progress, human bi-ped."

"Who are you?" Harry asks, feeling a crackle of power from her icy touch.

"I am Suspiria. That is all you need to know. My people are caring for you while your condition runs its course. I..." She breaks off, the first hint of warmth coming to her voice. "We are grateful to you and your home ship for falling into our displacement net. I am close to my answers... very close."

Harry chooses to avoid asking about his strange sudden illness, instead digging for orientation to his whereabouts. "Where exactly am I?"

"You are inside a subterranean city, located on a desert world in an area of space I believe you call the delta quadrant" she tells him precisely.

_The delta quadrant? That could be years, if not decades away from homespace_. Harry starts to panic. "Where's my ship then... the rest of the crew?"

"Most of the test subjects proved unsuitable for my purposes. They will wake soon and be allowed to transport back to their vessel of origin."

Harry pushes her prying hands away from assessing his blisters. "Test subjects? What have you been doing to them?" He can feel himself becoming agitated at the thought of what kind of tests this... girl could have been performing on himself and the others.

"You do not need to know that information. However-"

"That's where you're wrong" Harry interrupts. "You see I do need to know. I need to know what right you have to kidnap us and perform tests on us like we're lab rats." His voice gets louder.

"It was necessary" Suspiria starts, her voice becoming frosty. "Stay calm. This outburst will only serve to increase your blood pressure and aggravate your condition."

"A condition you've put me in. I demand to be released from here and returned to the Voyager."

"That is not possible."

"Make it possible!" Harry shouts.

"No!" Suspiria says simply.

Harry pounds a fist on the wall in frustration. He dares not touch this entity, so he does the next best thing. He trashes the room, spilling equipment tables and trays, smashing medical flasks and computer terminals. Suspiria gestures two masked people into the room who restrain Harry. "This will not help the cause. You will cease!" she thunders.

Harry struggles in the attendents' grasp, his growing fever making him lose rationality. He lashes out, bites and kicks the attendants. "Somebody help me!" he screams.

Suspiria turns to a medic in white. "Bring the Vulcan woman here. A companion from his own ship may placate him." The medic leaves at once and soon arrives back, wheeling in another bed with T'Prena lying on it. She too is in a white tunic and unconscious as Harry had been, but no sickening scabs or growths cover her skin.

Harry stops struggling for the moment. "Is she alright? Let me go to her." The attendants reluctantly let him go and he staggers weakly over to her bed, feeling her neck for the comforting pulse beating there. He sighs in relief. He whirls back to face Suspiria again. "You haven't infected her?"

"Of course not" the medic says quietly. "Our function is to care for all of you until the Mistress has released you. She only trials one at a time with the genetic tester virus."

"One at a time?" Harry echoes, feeling himself becoming weaker. "What happens if I fail this test?"

The medic glances unsurely at Suspiria. "You will not fail" Suspiria assures Harry.

Harry doesn't trust her though. He turns to T'Prena, but he knows little about how to awaken Vulcans out of their protective trances. He shakes her by the shoulders, but she doesn't respond. "Wake up... please." He starts to slap her face, hard. The attendants, not understanding what he's trying to do, grab him again and pull him back to his own bed. "No! I'm trying to... to..." Harry gives in to the fever and blacks out, slamming to the floor.

Unobserved, T'Prena's closed eyelids twitch as she begins to revive. They open once, shifting to observe the scene occuring in the room, before closing in the sham of coma. _I am captured. One of my crewmates is injured or ill. I must wait for a better opportunity to liberate us_, she mentally decides. T'Prena settles into absolute stillness while she listens to the attendants placing Harry on his bed and injecting him with something. She opens her eyes a crack once more to see Suspiria disappear in a blue fire of translocation. She quickly shuts her eyes again as the attendants turn to her, briefly scanning her condition. Her ruse works, they are unaware of her alertness. After they leave the room, T'Prena rises from the bed and moves to check on the young Ensign.

********************

Captain Janeway blinks her eyes open and realises she's lying on a grassy surface. Frowning, she gets up, wiping the blades of green from her uniform and wondering where she is? Her surroundings appear to be that of a lush Earth garden... but it can't be.

A moan from some bushes nearby garners her attention. A gold uniformed crewman slowly gets up, rubbing the back of his head. "Captain?" he asks upon seeing her.

"Lieutenant Rollins" Kathryn acknowledges. "Do you have an idea where we are?"

Jeff Rollins looks around himself carefully. "This place looks vaguely familiar, Captain, but... nothing's springing to mind." His expression is one of suspicion, fairly normal for the acting security chief. Noise from around them indicates that more people are waking up close by. Kathryn and Jeff wander around the garden, finding various Voyager crew members, but none of them with any definite recollection of what happened after the displacement wave rocked the ship.

Tom Paris wanders over, looking distant. "There was somewhere I needed to be" he murmers as he looks at his tricorder. He shakes his mind alert as he sees the Captain.

"Are we all here, Mr Paris" she asks.

"Mostly" he says darkly. "But there's still thirty-three crew members missing and I haven't seen Harry."

"Ensign Kim?" Kathryn looks perturbed. "Could he and the others be in another area?"

"I cranked this up to maximum scanning range, Captain. Nothing. I can tell you one thing though. None of this is real. We're on a hologrid."

"Computer, end program" Janeway calls, but nothing happens.

"I'm pretty sure it's not a Voyager hologrid" Tom adds, smirking. "The energy patterns are different."

Janeway gives him a look as if to say 'well, why didn't you tell me that five seconds ago?', then turns back to Jeff. "Arrange teams and sweep the area. I want to find a way off this grid or someone who can tell us how to do it."

"Aye Captain" Jeff says and moves off to his security personnel.

Kathryn taps her commbadge. "Janeway to all crew members. Until we know where we are and more importantly how to get back to our ship, everyone is to stay right here. Janeway out." She starts walking off.

"Where are you going?" Tom calls.

Janeway turns, eyebrows raised. "I don't see that it's any of your business, Mr Paris, but I'm leading one of the search parties."

"Who's in charge in the meantime?"

Kathryn glances behind Tom. Tom turns round following her gaze to see the now uninjured form of Lt Commander Cavit standing behind him. "I am" Cavit says simply.

********************

The security personnel stand to attention as Jeff approaches. He waves dismissively at them. "Relax people" he says crisply. "We have an unusual situation on our hands. The Captain wants a search of the area done and I want it done by the numbers." He faces one of his gold-uniformed crewmen. "Darcy, where are the rest of the staff?"

Darcy looks concedingly at her commanding officer. "Apart from us ten sir, I haven't seen any of the others. I assume they're scattered around the area" she tells him, her voice conveying her confusion.

"Well then, Darcy, are the communicators working?" Darcy nods. "You have a knack for logistics" Jeff says. "Start moving people into positions. Three man teams, sweeping the grounds. Tell them to look for any exits from this weird holoprison or whatever it is." Darcy pulls a PADD from her rear pocket and and taps her commbadge as she turns away and begins giving orders. "Gunn, Donaldson, you're with me. Let's go."

********************

Tom sighs and walks away as the security people pan out. He sits down on the grass, intent on enjoying this simulation while the Captain and her flunkies play adventurers. The surroundings are pleasant enough and the temperature is just right for a warm spring's day, a slight breeze blowing. Whoever created this put some thought into making it welcoming and comfortable. Still, there's a nagging doubt in his head. A feeling that he should be doing something... something important, rather than sitting here relaxing. He can't shake the feeling, so instead closes his eyes and concentrates on it, running through his memories. He hits the blank spot once again, but this times makes a real effort to push through. His temples start to throb, but he continues pushing.

Then all of a sudden, a stream of images pass like lightning through his mind, as if one brick has been taken out of the wall, allowing a thin strip of light through. He hears the monitor on a sickbay bed drone with a flatliner, sees a brilliant white light fill the viewscreen and feels the ship lurch dangerously. Words, faces - a man playing a banjo, his former Maquis comrade, B'Elanna. Then the image of a young woman settles in his mind, the sides of her face speckled like a Trill.

His eyes pop open suddenly, the pain in his head quickly subsiding. He doesn't remember the woman, but obviously he must have met her for the image to be in his head. A passing acquaintance from Earth, someone he met at the academy? Who? None of the other memories make any sense. He hasn't seen B'Elanna in months and the only time he was in sickbay on board Voyager was when reporting to Dr Fitzgerald. Instead he focuses on the mystery of this woman's identity. As he thinks, his eyes wander aimlessly over the crew milling around, then settle on one particular Ensign, her uniform displaying the blue band of science and medical. He blinks disbelievingly. The woman in his head is standing right in front of him. Getting up, he strides over to her. "Hi" he says pleasantly.

The woman turns round a little startled, but relaxes straight away and grins. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm a little nervous. I haven't a clue what we're supposed to be doing here."

"That makes two of us" Tom tells her with a small smile of his own. "Er, listen, I know this might sound like a line, but... have we met before? Because you seem familiar for some reason, but I can't think why."

Ezri frowns, studying this man's face closely. He's human, that much is certain. His blond hair is attractively dishevelled and his blue eyes are clear and bright. He's very handsome. Ezri blushes, looking down at her feet. Her mind should be set on trying to figure out what has happened to the missing Voyager crew, not sizing up the available men.

Tom sees her turn red and wonders what she's thinking about at that moment. 

_He probably already has a girlfriend anyway... or two, _Ezri thinks. That thought sobers her up a bit and she focuses her attention back on the question. Looking back up at him, Ezri does feel like she should know him. It's a strange sensation to say the least. "I'm not sure. You do seem familiar to me..." Suddenly a name pops into her head, unbidden. Tom! _Where did that come from? I don't know any Toms_. On a whim she blurts it out. "Your name wouldn't be Tom by any chance, would it?" Her words are uncertain. She realizes how crazy this all sounds. Familiar faces, odd names coming out of nowhere. She's sure he'll think she's insane.

Tom's eyes widen a little. "Yeah, it is actually. Tom Paris. So we have met?" He shakes his head slightly. "Man, I'm getting deja-vu something bad. So..." He sighs. "I'm sorry, I can't recall your name."

"Ezri... Ezri Tigan" she tells him.

Tom nods approvingly and smiles. "Nice name. Or have I said that before?" He glances back at his quiet spot under one of the oak trees. "We seem to have some time on our hands. Would you care to work with me? Maybe between us we can get through this mental block and see how much we know about each other."

Ezri smiles shyly and nods. "That's probably a good idea." As she follows Tom over to a shady spot under the trees, a million thoughts are running through her mind. Why is Tom so familiar to her when she can't remember ever meeting him before? How does she know his name? Has she really met him before and just doesn't remember it? Or is something more sinister at work here? Something more deliberate than just forgetfulness on her part. And if someone is somehow tampering with their memories, how much time has she lost? Ezri shivers a little, wrapping her arms around herself protectively as she sits down. She's not really cold, just scared and disturbed. The thought of someone raking through her mind and weeding out certain memories is disconcerting at best. She feels so violated! But instinctively, something in her knows that she can trust Tom. And not just because they're both from Starfleet. She can't quite put her finger on it, but there's something about him. "I'm scared, Tom" she blurts out, managing to surprise even herself with her directness. "Has someone been changing our memories?"

Tom hesitates. "Probably" he admits. "But I'm sure it's nothing that can't be fixed. I think our memories have just been blocked rather than altered. This deja-vu we're having sounds like it's some of those memories leaking back into our conscious mind." He sees Ezri's worried expression. "Let's try and get through this one together, okay?" He gently takes her hand and squeezes it supportively. "Now, is there anything else you can remember about me, other than my name? Concentrate hard. I did it a few minutes ago and I think I got somewhere. I remembered you anyway." He smiles at her.

Ezri smiles back, trying to put on a brave front. "Okay, I'll try."

********************

Jeff and his two companions make their way through the trees, striking out away from the clearing. As they shuffle through the overgrowth, his male companion sighs. "Couldn't we have taken a path, sir" he says in a sort of quasi-whine.

Jeff sighs in desparation. "Donaldson, there are no paths. And had there been any, rest assured I would've embraced their use, if only to get you to stop whinging. Now please, show some professionalism and keep quiet."

The group keeps shuffling forward. Donaldson breaks the silence again. "So, Gunn, you're a security officer" he says cheerily.

Gunn pauses for a moment. "Well spotted. I can see why you made Ensign" she quips.

"No no no." He laughs lightly. "I mean, you're a security officer and your last name is Gunn. That's pretty funny" he sniggers. He stops when he realises no-one is joining in. "Sorry" he murmurs.

Jeff half smiles to himself. "If you think that's funny, you should hear her first name."

"Which is?" Donaldson sees Gunn suddenly focus in on the conversation.

"Oh no, don't you dare-"

"Her first name's Raye." Jeff waits for a reaction from him. Gunn just puts her head in her hands and moans.

"Raye" he says, rolling it around. "Unusual but not..." His eyes widen as the penny finally drops. "Raye Gunn? A security officer called Raye Gunn?" He shakes with laughter.

"Lieutenant junior grade Raye Gunn, Ensign" she snaps. "Now be quiet."

They trudge on in silence for a little while. "So how'd you get called Raye Gunn anyway. Didn't your parents notice?" Donaldson starts.

"They named me that on purpose so that I wouldn't join Starfleet security."

"Then why did you?"

"To annoy them" she says smiling. "And I look great in gold."

There's a rustle in the thicket ahead and the three security crew drop to the ground. Jeff hurriedly taps his commbadge. "Darcy, has anyone reported being near our current location."

There's a short pause before his answer comes through. "No sir, we're on our own."

Jeff closes the channel and watches closely. An old man appears, holding a banjo in his hand as he strides through the thick vegetation. He passes in front of them, then vanishes amongst the trees to their left. Jeff slowly gets up, followed by the two behind him. "Alright, lets go." He and Raye are over ten metres away before they realise Donaldson isn't following them. "Donaldson, that wasn't a suggestion" Jeff hisses sternly.

Donaldson shakes his head. "No way sir. I'm not following him."

Jeff rolls his eyes. "Donaldson, he's an sixty-something year old hillbilly with a musical instrument. You're a twenty-five year old Starfleet officer with combat training and a phaser. Now unless he takes you by surprise and beats you to death with his banjo, you've got nothing to worry about."

"Uh-uh. I know what'll happen, I've seen Deliverance." He crosses his arms and shakes his head again for effect. Raye strides over, grabs his arm and starts dragging him in the direction the old man went. Jeff shakes his head in despair and trails after them. They follow the old man for over five minutes before they find out where he's going. They watch as he leaves the woods and walks into a clearing towards a huddle of wooden buildings. The three officers rise partially from the overgrowth, monitoring his movements.

"I think I've got a burr in my shoe."

Donaldson gets a collective "Shhhh!" The old man crosses the clearing and goes towards the largest structure - a hay loft.

"I have. It's digging into my instep. I hate nature." Donaldson inspects his boot. "Ow! Watch it, Gunn" he cries as he rubs his shin.

"Shut up will you. He'll hear us."

The old man walks up to the loft's side and lifts a section of the timber away, revealing a small control panel. He taps a few buttons and stares intently at it. Jeff smiles and turns to his team. "Now's our chance, while he's distracted. I'll sneak up and grab him. You two wait here." He creeps silently across the grass. Twenty metres away... ten metres. He can hear the old man's laboured breathing and the hum of the panel's power source. Five metres now. He reaches for his phaser and takes one last step forward. CRACK! He hadn't even seen the twig, but it had been big enough. The old man whirls round and before Jeff can fire his phaser, something smashes into the side of his head. As he crumples to the floor he sees the old man standing over him, hefting the banjo like a sword. Jeff curses Donaldson inwardly, then passes out.


	7. Stand-off with Suspiria

**Title: DISPLACED (7/20)**

** Writers: CHRIS DEVLIN (Donaldson, Gunn, Rollins, Carey & Darcy), SONYA BRINKMAN (Tigan), NICK LEWIS (Paris, Suspiria), PATTI KEIPER (Janeway), ALLEN McDONNELL (Tuvok & Vorik)**

** Edited by NICK LEWIS**

** Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and it's associated characters are trademarks of Paramount/Viacom. This is a fan-run venture, making no money. Please leave our lawyers alone ;-)**

**V-Trek: The Alternate Adventures @ http://www.virtual-trek.fsnet.co.uk**

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"I told you!" Donaldson says in a mixture of fear and vindication as he and Raye witness the grounding of their commanding officer.

Raye jumps out of the woods and draws her phaser. "Drop the banjo!" she screams. "Do it! Now!" Donaldson gingerly follows her, making sure to keep behind her. The old man scowls at them both, but otherwise doesn't react. The two junior officers moved in closer. "I said drop it!" Raye shouts again. They come to ten metres away, but the old man stays frozen.

Donaldson looks nervous. "Gunn, I've seen the old Terran movies, I know how this goes. He's going to be like a kung-fu master. He's going to wig out and floor us with banjo hits and stuff, like Jackie Chan."

Raye despairs. "Donaldson, he's not a kung-fu master. He's a shrivelled old prune who got frickin' lucky!" Regardless though, the old man suddenly takes to the air in a flying leap and comes crashing down where Raye was standing until Donaldson knocked her out of the way. They both leap back to their feet and aim their phasers at him. "Donaldson, this is your fault and somehow I'm going to prove it" Raye hisses at him. She shouts to the old man again. "Put the god-damn banjo down or I'll blow it out of your frickin' hand!"

That seems to get a reaction. The old man lowers his banjo slowly and stiffly. Raye nods satisfactorily. "That's more like it. Keep going-" Suddenly, in one fluid motion the old man hurls the banjo towards Raye. In spite of her reflexes, it manages to smash into her head and send her sprawling to the ground, the phaser in her hand firing randomly as she falls. The old man deftly rolls aside, then springs back up, grinning at Donaldson. He charges. Donaldson squeezes his eyes shut and fires his phaser. There's a scream and Donaldson opens his eyes to see the old man writing in agony on the grass in front of him. After a few moments, he gives one final groan and dissipates.

Donaldson checks his phaser, puzzled. It's only set to light stun. He crouches down to check Raye's condition. After seeing that she's fine apart from a rapidly forming lump on her head, he looks up to where the random blasts had impacted, the sky now seemingly twisted and sinking into itself. He pushes the setting on his phaser up to heavy stun and fires at this anomaly. There's a flash of blinding light and when he looks back, a tear about six metres in diameter hangs in the sky. Beyond it there's the glimpse of metal and flickering lights. Donaldson grimaces and taps his commbadge. Darcy is going to love this.

********************

Ezri winces as a stabbing pain penetrates her mind. "I can't remember" she cries.

"Try" Tom urges her. Then suddenly she sees things that shouldn't be there... odd images. A man playing a banjo. And following that, an image of herself and Tom standing next to a large barn. _When were we at a barn?_ Then she sees someone else in the image, but it's hard to make out the details. _What's going on? Did all of this really happen to me... to us?_ Finally she sees something that really scares her - an image of death. And she and Tom are both right in the middle of it. Someone presses a medkit into her hands...

Ezri's eyes snap open and she finds herself back in the garden, sitting with Tom under the trees, just like she should be. She can still feel his fingers intertwined with hers. Looking up, she knows that there is barely reigned in panic present in her eyes. "Something really bad happened, Tom. I don't know what, but people were dying. What are we going to do?"

Tom turns white, remembering the drone of the flatline from the fragments of his own forced recollections. "I was hoping that was just a flashback" he murmers. He taps his comm-badge. "Paris to Janeway."

"Go ahead" Kathryn replies. She looks up from her surveillance of the team sweeping away from her in their survey of the area. _I wonder what he's found_.

"Captain..." He pauses, unsure how to say this. "I think the situation is more critical than we thought. Ensign Tigan and myself have been making some progress in regaining our memories, post displacement wave. It's not good. We both remember sickbay being over-run with casualties and I can definitely remember one person dying. Our thirty-three missing mightn't be missing at all... they could be dead back on the Voyager."

Kathryn pales. "I hope you're wrong, Mr Paris. This sounds like something I don't want to remember." Her attention is then diverted by a commotion up ahead. _What th-?_ As she looks up, she sees a section of the holomatrix crackle with arcs of energy. A snapping sound is head as a burst of power causes a blinding light, forcing the Captain and her team to cover their eyes. Moments later, a large jagged rip, exposing the raw wiring off the grid hangs as if suspended in the air. Kathryn aims her tricorder at the hole, then turns to her team. "I'm reading lifesigns through that rip. This could be our opportunity out of here. Find a way up there, pile hay-bales if you have to!" she shouts.

********************

"Captain?" Back in the garden, Tom taps his commbadge again and repeats himself, but there's no answer. The link has been cut. He gets up suddenly, followed by Ezri.

"What's wrong?" Ezri asks, debating whether she really wants to hear more bad news.

"I think the Captain's in trouble" Tom says.

An Ensign standing near Tom, munching on a grass frond, blinks at him. "What makes you so sure?"

"Communications don't just cut-out for nothing. We find ourselves on a strange hologrid with no discernable means of getting out, our memories have been blocked, then all of a sudden I lose contact with the Captain? If that doesn't spell trouble to you, then you shouldn't even be in Starfleet" he says irritably. He jogs away into the trees. Frowning, the Ensign follows.

"TOM?" Ezri shouts in concern, then races after him.

********************

A concerted effort has made a rickety stairway to the hologrid's now exposed ceiling possible. Captain Janeway is the first to scale up. She blinks as her surroundings are suddenly replaced by a gleaming metallic room. Looking down it would have seemed that she was decapitated if she hadn't already quickly figured out that the floor is an illusion. She ducks beneath the floor and nods to two security crewman to follow her up.

From behind the Captain, Suspiria strides across the metal floor, stopping just short of the holofield. She stares at her with narrowed eyes. "What have you done to my matrix?"

The security men promptly turn round, aiming their phasers at her. Suspiria in turn raises her hands. "Phasers down!" Kathryn orders. There's a tense few moments until the two men obey her command.

Suspiria eyes them carefully and lowers her hands as well. Her expression is one of undisguised distain though. "You are proving to be a troublesome species. You interfere with things that don't concern you. Why can't you just go?" She barely keeps herself from blinking them into space, she wants to hear what they have to say.

Kathryn is careful to keep her hands away from any of the equipment on her belt and adopts a non-threatening demeanor. "We've been brought here against our will. All we want is to collect our missing crew and get back to our vessel. Can you help us?"

"What 'crew' you have is already with you. I see no reason for your continued presence."

"I have thirty-three men and women missing" Kathryn counters carefully. "I've just been informed that many of them may actually be dead, although I'm hoping that isn't the case. Do you know anything about this, Ms..." The captain fishes for a name from this odd girl.

"If your crew's physiology is not sturdy enough to survive transit, that is not my problem. I repeat, you have all of your crew, minus the three I need for my experiments. They will be returned in due course. Now leave my array, before I am forced to dismiss you myself."

"That's just not good enough" Kathryn flares. "What right do you have to kidnap my crew and use them as guinea pigs in some kind of... scientific venture?"

Suspiria looks steely-eyed. "I believe the Vulcan race have an interesting saying. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one. I find that to be apt in this case. Your wishes are irrelevent compared to the needs of an entire civilisation."

Kathryn doesn't even have time to question what she means by this when the security officer to her right raises his phaser again. "No, Ensign!" she warns, but it's too late. Suspiria throws out her hand and the beam of light reflects back, hitting him. He's thrown back, landing on the solid floor. Kathryn rushes to his side and sees the phaser near his hand. It has melted into a metallic morass of smoking plasma. She feels for a pulse and is heartened to find one, but it's erratic. Turning back to the alien, Kathryn finds her staring at them in annoyance.

"I do not appreciate threats upon my person. Your crewperson will live, but let that be a lesson. Now leave."

"We can't" Kathryn says in desperation. She's struck by how young the being in front of her appears to be, but this is no child. "I told you we were brought here against our will. We have no way of getting back to our ship. We didn't even know the hologrid was breachable until we saw the rift open up in the ceiling."

"Which you caused."

"My crew have not harmed any part of your array."

"There was a discontinuation in relay 211 due to a phased energy burst. Your people are the only ones currently inhabiting my matrix, therefore you are responsible."

"Alright, alright." Confronted with that chain of logic, how can she argue. "If we have somehow damaged your matrix as you put it, I can assure you it was not intentional."

Suspiria shakes her head and raises her hand once again. "I tire of this. You will leave now." Then moments later, she lowers her hand. "Your ship is no longer docked" she says in confusion.

Kathryn is startled by the news. She aims a tricorder up but cannot scan beyond the array's bulkheads. Suspiria ignores her and walks over to a wall. Images suddenly appear on it, racing back faster and faster until she touches it.. A visual is shown of the Voyager leaving the array and going into warp. Kathryn is mightily puzzled. If the Voyager is vacant, how can it have moved itself. There are failsafes in place that are designed to either destroy the ship in the event of sudden crew abandonment or shut it down into standby surveillance mode, depending on what the self-diagnostic computer decides based on internal sensor readings.

"There was a energy transfer between the small ship and your own....... a translocation signature perhaps." Suspiria nods as she confirms her theory. She turns back to the Captain. "It would seem that your ship has been taken by the others from your area of space."

Kathryn frowns, puzzled, then realisation hits her. "No!" she breathes in a whisper. She taps her commbadge in desperation. "Cavit, Rollins, anyone, can you hear me? I've an emergency on my hands...... Respond!" Static hisses aloud.

"They cannot hear you. The damage to the holomatrix has resulted in an energy leak which is dampening communications inside."

"Can you shut down your matrix?" Kathryn asks.

"Why?"

"If your matrix is anything like our own holographic systems, my crew should appear together in the deck below once the simulation has ceased running."

"You wish to talk with them?"

"Yes?"

Suspiria thinks it over. She's still tempted to space this destructive species, but she thinks about how some of them have been able to help in her experiments. For that alone she decides to show leniency. As she presses a section of the console, the holofield completely disappears, including the false floor. Below is a large darkened pit, illuminated by criss-crossing blue conduits of pulsing energy.

Tom was running through the trees, centring in on the Captain's location when all of a sudden, the foliage and everything else disappears, replaced by a set-up which reminds him of a holodeck. The next thing he realises is that the rest of the crew are behind him. The first person he glimpses is a stunned looking Ezri not five steps away. He walks over. "Are you okay?"

Kathryn makes her presence known from her kneeling position at the top of the pit. "Everyone, may I have your attention" she speaks loudly. "It seems that our ship has been stolen by the Maquis." Gasps and murmers of disquiet ripple through the crew, but they quickly silence for their Captain to continue. Kathryn runs through her mind, searching for a plan. She turns to Suspiria. "Is the Liberty still docked?"

"Liberty?" the girl queries.

"The ship the others from our area of space transported from" Kathryn explains.

Suspriria doesn't even have to look at her console. "Yes" comes her unearthly voice.

"Will you let us use it to get our own ship back?"

Suspiria doesn't need to think hard about it. Whatever these beings want to do with their crafts is their business. As long as they leave the array and don't interfere with her experiments. "It is yours."

"Thank you" Kathryn tells her honestly and turns back to her crew. "I intend to take the abandoned Maquis ship on a covert mission to retake the Voyager. Commander Cavit, Lieutenant Rollins and Lieutenant Carey, if you'll come up to ground level. I'll need your assistance in choosing my crew for this... adventure."

********************

For almost two days Tuvok and Vorik have been moving through the ductworks of the Ocampa city, searching for T'Prena. They had her in their sights once, but as they prepared to break in, a transporter beamed her away and they'd lost their chance. Their luck changes though as they come across a quiet maintenence shop. They'd managed to retrieve their phasers, intact but drained. Now here's their chance to make them operational again. Working phasers would assist their defense much more than hand to hand combat and nerve pinches. Quickly and efficiently they strip the weapons down, adapting the power packs to absorb current from the Ocampan's primitive electrical supply system rather than the electro-plasma systems favoured by all the major powers of the Alpha and Beta quadrants. The only downside is that they'll take over an hour to fully charge, as opposed to the normal fifteen minutes.

Tiredness passes over the younger vulcan's face as they finish. Neither of them have slept since they awoke in the Ocampan medical centre, due to the constant pressure of maintaining mental shields to avoid being pinpointed by the telepathic security teams. But both are aware that sleep will have to come soon lest they pass out from fatigue and become easily tracable. They set off again and find a ducts leading to an old looking stairwell disappearing up into the darkness. Logic requires that if they cannot find T'Prena by tonight, they must seek secured shelter. Vorik looks at Tuvok and the elder Vulcan nods.

********************

Tom stands to one side with Ezri. "They'll want the best pilot they can rustle up and that'll be me" he says confidentally. He look over to Ezri. "I'm sure you'll be coming along too" he smiles. "There doesn't seem to be any other medics available."

"I only took nurse's aide classes as credit for my training" Ezri tells him worriedly. "I don't think I'll be able to do much if someone gets seriously injured. It's lucky Lieutenant Rollins only had concussion."

Tom puts an arm round her shoulders. "You'll be fine. All you need is a little confidence in yourself."

"I think you have more than enough for both of us, Tom" she says, glancing at the hand on her shoulder. She thinks about moving it away. It would be the proper thing to do in this situation, but she doesn't. She likes how it feels. It makes her feel... safe. Even though they're in the midst of a crisis, there's a sense of security that fills her when she's standing by Tom's side. _This is crazy, Ensign, get a grip! You're turning into a lovesick schoolgirl!_ She takes a deep breath and steps away from Tom. She misses his warmth straight away. This holodeck or whatever it is isn't nearly heated enough for her tastes. Ezri wraps her arms around herself to keep from shivering. "Do we need to do something?" she asks without looking behind her. "Something to help the Captain I mean."

Tom rests against the wall, wishing this uniform had pockets he could slip his hands into. He looks up at the small group on the ground level. "Not at the moment. Looks like Janeway and her cronies are setting everything up on their own. I'm sure we'll be able to prove how indispensable we are once we get on the ship though." Privately he thinks about the missing crew members. If his fragmented memories of an overrun sickbay are true, how many of them will still be alive when they get the ship back. Will the Maquis do anything for them? He hopes Harry isn't among them. The young Ensign's statement in the mess-hall about deciding on his own friends had gratified him. Too many people are easily turned off him once they find out about what happened at Caldik Prime. Every dirty look and snide word adds to his feelings of worthlessness, not that he ever shows it though. He's never given them that satisfaction. He looks distantly at the floor, unaware that Ezri is staring at him.

Ezri watches Tom's face for a long moment. He seem so troubled by something, but she's not sure what that something could be. "Tom?" she asks, stepping forward and placing a gentle hand on his arm, already forgetting about her earlier vow to keep her distance. "What's wrong?"

Tom jumps a little, not realising he's been 'spacing' again. "Um... wrong? Nothing." He smiles but it's pained. Ezri is clearly dubious. For a moment he considers opening up to her - she said she'd trained to be a counsellor at the academy. But just as quickly he decides against it. He'd had enough psych-babble in his first week at the penal colony to last him for life. Not that Dr Wylie didn't mean well, but how could she have possibly comprehended what was going through his mind when he didn't even know himself. "I'm fine, really!" he assures Ezri. He stands there for a second, thinking. "I'm going over to the repair crews, see if I can make myself useful." He starts walking over to Lieutenant Carey, then swings round. "I'll see you on board, when we leave." He smiles again, this time feeling more like his usual self.

********************

Janeway, Cavit and Rollins wait patiently in the ground level room, waiting to hear back from Lieutenant Carey. He and a handful of engineers had beamed over to the Liberty some half an hour ago to assess the damage to the ship's key systems. Kathryn sighs and cradles her head, arising concern in Jeff. "Are you okay, Captain?"

Kathryn looks over and smiles at him. "I'm fine, Jeff. It's probably just caffine withdrawal. I always have coffee in the morning and it certainly feels like morning to me."

Jeff nods in agreement. "A good cup would do me some good too. Yours was black and sweet, right?"

Kathryn's eyes widen slightly. "You've got a good memory. What was your blend again?"

"Mocha latté with cinnamon." Jeff glances over to Cavit. "What about you, Commander?"

Cavit looks up from picking at a loose thread on his uniform. "Hmm? Oh... sorry, I can't stand the stuff. Too bitter. I'm a tea drinker myself."

Jeff stares at him in utter amazement. _He doesn't like coffee? What kind of Starfleet officer is he?_ Kathryn just grins.

Cavit sees the look Jeff is giving him and frowns. "What?"

Mercifully though, Carey reports in before Jeff can comment. "Carey to Janeway."

Kathryn taps her commbadge. "Janeway here. What's the verdict, Mr Carey?"

Carey sighs. "Captain, you're not going to like this. It looks like the displacement wave hit the Maquis twice as hard as it hit us. There aren't many dead bodies, but the ship is shot to hell. The shields are damaged, hull's swiss cheese, the EPS grid is one short-circuit away from complete burnout, the engines are a molten mess, the weapons are in pieces, and don't even get me started on the warp drive."

Kathryn's face falls disappointedly. "If I had another choice Mr Carey, I'd give it to you. Is there anything left online?"

There's a brief pause. "Well... there's transporters, life support, replicators. But if this ship is going anywhere it'll need major repairs. We're looking at about thirty-six hours, Captain."

Jeff whistles. "That's not an option" Kathryn states flatly, "the Voyager will be long gone by then. What if we get the engines working, then rebuild the rest on the fly?"

"We'd need to bring a lot of the engineering staff with us then. At least ten to fifteen."

Kathryn grimaces. That would be almost half their crew space gone in one fell swoop. She sighs. "Very well Mr Carey. Work on those engines and keep us informed of your progress. I want that ship ready to leave as soon as possible. Janeway out." She looks at her first officer. "Now all we need are some-"

She's cut off as Ensign Darcy climbs into the room, gets to her feet and stands crisply to attention. She pulls a handful of PADDs from her inside jacket pocket and hands them over. "Lieutenant Rollins told me you wanted these, Captain."

Kathryn looks impressed. "That was quick, Ensign."

"Joanna is a very efficient officer" Jeff says, giving her a fleeting half-smile.

Kathryn nods, indicating that she can go, then looks at her two senior officers. "Let's get started ourselves then, shall we?"


	8. Operation Liberty

**Title: DISPLACED (8/20)**

** Writers: PATTI KEIPER (Kim, T'Prena, Janeway & Suspiria), CHRIS DEVLIN (Donaldson, Gunn, Rollins, Carey & Darcy), NICK LEWIS (Lefler), ALLEN McDONNELL (Tuvok & Vorik), AUDREY DeJESUS (Seven)**

** Edited by NICK LEWIS**

** Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and it's associated characters are trademarks of Paramount/Viacom. This is a fan-run venture, making no money. Please leave our lawyers alone ;-)**

**V-Trek: The Alternate Adventures @ http://www.virtual-trek.fsnet.co.uk**

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Harry awakes to an amber world. The air is filled with the stench of seared sand and dust. He coughs, then turns his head wildy, suddenly frightened that this illness has affected his sight. He's blind! He rolls onto his back and sighs in relief as he sees comforting stars wink into his vision, his retinas quickly growing used to the darkness. _It's just night_. He ckecks the areas of him which the sores had previously covered. Scabs have formed over them. He realises he feels cooler too - his fever must have receded, at least for the moment. Memories start trickling into his mind. "T'Prena?"

Near him is the cool vulcan form of the woman Suspira had brought to him to prove her intentions. She doesn't reply to his cracking voice, lying still on the sand. He crawls over to her and places an ear on her stomach. He's relieved to hear her heart beating. He looks up to the sky and across the landscape. No moon... and what looks like some mountains in the distance. He wonders if they're still on the same planet that weird alien hospital was on. And if they are, how did they get outside?

Harry begins lightly slapping T'Prena's face to wake her, but she catches his arm defensively on the second blow. "That is sufficient." She sits up, still grasping his wrist, then shifts her grip to check his pulse. "How are you doing, Ensign?" she asks, noting the apparent healing of his blisters.

She moves to touch one of the scabs, but Harry backs away reflexively. "Don't! It might be infectious."

She raised one elegant eyebrow. "Highly improbable. We've been in each other's company for some time now since our transport here from the alien hospital. If I was susceptible I would have contracted symptoms to verify that theory. I have not. Therefore I conclude that I am immune to your sickness." Harry thinks about that as she looks carefully at the sky. "I would say that we have been in this desert for approximately nine point four hours." she says as she helps Harry to his feet.

Harry frowns. "You were unconscious just now. How do you know how lon-"

"I've noted the change in the stellar constellations from what I observed just before I lost consciousness when they brought us here."

"You remember that?" Harry asks, panting with the exertion of being upright after so long lying down.

"Certainly. They did not sedate me until after I fought one of them for the communications device on his belt. I believe it was the same being who was in the hospital with us when your delirium required that you be restrained."

Harry smiles uncomfortably. "I was... delirious?"

"You were. I was brought to your room to 'keep you company' and most likely to keep you alive. You had to be resuscitated twice when your lungs wouldn't breathe on their own."

"Glad to hear it" Harry says, covering up his embarrassment. "Listen, how about we try and find some water before the sun comes up?"

T'Prena tilts her head. "You have no need for such an emotional reaction, Ensign. I was serving my profession's duty by aiding you."

The thought of a Vulcan giving him mouth to mouth and being able to read his mind afterwards un-nerves Harry greatly. "Whatever... Let's... let's just move out of here, shall we? How about over to those mountains, they look promising."

He rapidly walks away from his companion and T'Prena actually has to stretch herself to keep up with him. _Illogical humans. I will never understand their emotional reactions to the medical personnel who attend to them_.

********************

Her face is expressionless on the surface, but inside Suspiria seethes as her transporter is used like a taxi service, ferrying people to and from the damaged Maquis ship. Occasionally she glances down into the deactivated holopit, watching these bipedal creatures go about their business, then wanders off wishing they were gone already. Destructive beings, all of them. She'd found out a little while ago that one of them killed her most dedicated worker before damaging her holo-matrix. She almost wishes she'd never ensnared them, but at least they will prove useful in the second experiment. True, none of them have the genetic requirements for a merging with the Ocampa, but her most recent tests regarding the solar radiation problem have yielded some interesting results and she's curious to see how these species' will handle the effects. Maybe she can solve both problems together.

Suspiria paces the metal floor and on impulse slices her hand through the air, causing a disorientated Captain Janeway to appear in front of her. "I am tiring of your continued presence. Have you made your 'arrangements'?" Suspiria is the model of restraint, not wanting to give the Captain an inkling of what's going to happen to the rest of her people once the ship has left the array.

"Very nearly" Kathryn says as she determines up from down within the pit of her stomach. "However, I would like to ask another favour if I may. My crew haven't eaten for almost a day that we know of, maybe more. Any food that you can give us would be graciously accepted."

Suspiria holds onto her temper. "Your technological needs are being met. That is enough."

"Look, I don't mean for us to overstay our welcome, but some sustenance would go a long way to pacifying the crew. I'm sure you've noticed their 'restlessness'."

"It is but for my generosity that you have a chance of pursuing your ship thieves at all, Captain Janeway. Your people have been highly disruptive."

Kathryn bites her tongue. Belligerance will only inflame this being. She lowers her gaze submissively. "I offer you my genuine apologies for our conduct. But this kindness would benefit yourself as well as us. My crew will be able to work faster when properly nourished." Suspiria looks at her through narrowed eyes, then grudgingly sweeps out a hand, a cargo bin of bread and fruit appearing in the middle of the holopit. The crew look on in surprise at the huge crate's sudden materialization. "Our gracious host has provided for our needs once more" Kathryn calls down to them.

"With this nourishment, how long will it take?" Suspiria demands.

Kathryn meets her eyes levelly. "We will be flight ready in two of our hours."

"Very well. Go down to your crew, and to your food. I am leaving. I find the ingestion of biomatter by ephemerals... distasteful." Suspiria disappears looking like she's going to be sick. Kathryn looks back down at the food. She doesn't need a second invitation.

********************

Donaldson pulls the peel off another orange and devours a segment hungrily. He turns to Raye who's trying to break open a coconut with the butt of her phaser. She growls in fury and wallops the shell a few more times, glaring at Donaldson when he starts laughing. "Why don't you just have an apple?" he suggests. "They're nice."

"I don't want an apple" she explains slowly, thumping the coconut as hars as she can. "I want a coconut. I like the pulpy bit, I like the milk, I like everything about this fruit except..." She tries stamping on it to no avail. "Except this bloody shell." she finishes, giving up and sitting down in front of it.

An idea then strikes her. She could use a phaser beam on low power to burn away the shell. She smiles triumphantly and readies her phaser.

"DON'T DO THAT!" Donaldson cries out.

"I'm a qualified security officer, Donaldson, I think I can handle it."

"But do you have any idea what a type 2 phaser on level 4 does to a coconut when fired from a range of two metres?"

"No, do you?"

Donaldson shakes his head. "But I'm in no rush to find out."

Captain Janeway, sitting on the metal stairway winding down to the flight deck, notices the fruit fiasco debate unfolding between her two junior officers. She smirks, tactfully keeping silent as the woman aims her phaser. _Well, that's one way to let off a little stress. I'm glad I'm out of the range of fire_. 

Raye shrugs and fires her weapon. The milk inside boils and the shell begins to expand, the pressure mounting until... SPLAT!!! The coconut explodes, showering Raye and several other innocent bystanders with white fruit. Donaldson roars with laughter, spraying spit and orange pulp. A disgusted looking Raye wipes herself down and grabs an apple from her mound of fruit, viciously tearing a lump from it. "The apples are nice" she mumbles as she bites into it again.

"I was right" Donaldson says smugly. Raye gives him the evil eye, at that moment contemplating at least eight ways to kill him, two of them involving fruit.  


Kathryn hides an involuntary laugh by burying her teeth into a peach. She spares the coconut soaked 'victims' a direct glance, even though they look her way expecting her to react somehow to their annoyance. _Live and learn they say_. She chuckles, brushing a shred of coconut pith from one shoulder. She offers them a cluster of bananas in compensation, but gets no takers.

Everyone stands up as Lieutenant Rollins and Ensign Darcy arrive. It's at this point Raye realises everyone around them are from security. Jeff clears his throat. "Okay people, here's the personnel listing for the Liberty operation. We only had the opportunity to choose eight of the most skilled and professional amongst you. Munro, Alexander." A slender man almost bursting out of his uniform walks crisply into step with Jeff.

"Rodriguez, Leslie." A young woman with bleached blonde hair saunters smugly over.

"Foster, David." A cold, dark skinned man with a beard and piercing eyes.

"Lestaki, Skazz." A clean-cut Bolian with a rifle.

"D'nighr, Gertand." A heavily muscled, green-skinned alien.

"Weizbaski, Philip." A well-built man with a perpetual scowl and five o'clock shadow.

"Gunn, Raye." There's a few sniggers as some of the crewmen put her name together, but Jeff's withering stare silences them.

"Well it's been nice, Gunn" Donaldson tells her, finishing off the last orange segment, "but since I have the aptitude of a five year old and no redeeming merit, I'll see you when you get back." He gives her a genuine smile. "It's a shame really, because I was growing quite fond of-"

"Donaldson, Samuel."

Sam almost chokes on his orange. As the others file away leaving the chosen few behind, he approaches his commanding officer. "Why me, sir?" Jeff ignores him, ordering the team to line-up. "Please sir, why me?" he pleads.

"Get into line, Donaldson" Jeff tells him. Raye mutters something about Sam's parentage.

"If you answer the question I'll happily join in" he badgers.

Jeff tells him to shut up and Raye pretends not to know him.

"Are you avoiding my question, sir? Because if you are-"

Jeff sighs and turns to face him. "You want to know? Fine! These officers" he gestures to the others, "are here because they are professional, efficient and cool under pressure. You are loud, unprofessional and whiny. You have the aptitude of a grape and I'm surprised you learned to tie your shoes, let alone make it through security training. You want to know why you're here? Because you have an accuracy rating of 91% in a realtime combat environment. I rate only 79% and no-one else here is above 75%." The other officers look at Sam in a mixture of awe, respect, and utter disbelief, except Raye who is staring at him with great curiosity. "There's your reason, Donaldson. Now get in line" Jeff says briskly. Sam blinks, but complies a second later, filing in next to Raye.

Kathryn, leaning against the wall in the corner of the room, had seen the division of the security officers and had approved of Jeff's selections, only to raise an eyebrow when she hears Donaldson's efficiency rating. _Talk about sharpshooting_, she thinks.

"You didn't tell me you were that good a shot" Raye whispers to him while Jeff reads out the mission profile.

Sam shrugs. "It never came up."

"Well, now I know why they didn't boot you out. You're a prodigy." She grins. "An honest to God prodigy. Nice to have met you."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be. Trust me" he says glumly.

As he finishes, Jeff turns and glances at Kathryn. "Security team alpha ready for action, Captain."

Kathryn nods, smiling. "Take your positions. We leave in ten." As the team split-up, Kathryn makes her way back up the stairs to the bridge.

********************

Kathryn checks status reports coming in as Jeff arrives and takes his position at tactical. The bridge is a little cramped, but she gets a sense of readyness and action that she wouldn't get on an active Starfleet vessel. She toggles a switch. "All hands, this is the Captain. Man your stations, we have thirty seconds to launch." She flicks another switch. "Engineering, fire up aft thrusters and prepare to engage the impulse drive. We've got ourselves a starship to recover." In the back of her mind, Kathryn is already making plans to sweep the nearest planets for lifesigns while they cast about for the Voyager's escape trail. She mentally ticks down the seconds in her head and on precisely zero, the ship lurches forward.

"Sorry Captain, the inertial dampers are a bit sluggish" Robin Lefler reports from ops.

"Quite alright, Ensign. We should probably consider it a miracle of engineering that she's moving at all." Robin smiles at that as the ship starts to distance itself from the array.

"Alright Mr Carey, maximum sustainable warp speed please" Kathryn requests as the ship reaches the required range.

"Aye Captain" Joe's voice crackles over the intercom, "warp four coming up." The engines began to power up, then just as suddenly stall and die.

"Mr Carey" Kathryn starts.

"I didn't do that, Captain" the engineer says hastily. "Everything checks out down here, the engines should be working fine."

A flash in front of her causes Kathryn to blink. When her vision clears, she sees an angry Suspiria standing in front of her. "You tried to remove him" she accuses. "I won't let you do that."

Janeway is taken aback. What is she talking about? "I don't understand-" she begins.

"The one you call Donaldson" Suspiria explains, exasperated at the stupidity of these people. "He not only disabled my holomatrix, but also killed my most trusted servant."

"Killed?" Kathryn exclaims, clearly surprised.

"If I was in such a mind, I would space him in an instant" Suspiria hisses. "However he may yet serve a useful purpose."

"Captain" comes Raye's voice over the comms desk, "Ensign Donaldson has disappeared. One minute we were talking, the next-"

"Acknowledged, Lieutenant" Kathryn interrupts. "I think I know why. Will explain later."

Suspiria waves her hand and a figure appears on the bridge. It's Joanna Darcy, chewing on a long strand of hay, her uniform top tied around her waist. She looks around and her mouth drops open slightly, the hay falling to the floor. "To replace your crewman" Suspiria states curtly. She vanishes without another word.

Joanna finally finds her voice. "I missed something important didn't I" she says quietly...

And as the Liberty disappears into warp, the engines coming back online as soon as Suspriria left, the childlike entity strolls over to her deactivated holomatrix, still occupied by the remainder of the Voyager crew. _Solar radiation experiment number twenty-two initiated. And not before time_. With a wave of her hand, everyone inside vanishes. On the heat-blazed desert surface of Ocampa, seventy-three beings suddenly appear as if from nowhere.

********************

"Ensign, I believe if you apply pressure at this juncture we will be successful." Vorik worms his way into the painstakingly excavated tunnel. "On three" Tuvok orders. "One...... two...... three." The two vulcans apply pressure uniformly, increasing it until the small boulder in question shifts, then drops away leaving a vulcan size opening into a cave. Thirty minutes later the two stealthily move into the light, discovering not a friendly planetary surface, but rather an numerous crowd of familiar cybernetic beings.

"Borg" Vorik states.

Tuvok nods. "So long as we do not threaten them, reports indicate they will ignore us."

"I would prefer to place a good distance between ourselves and these drones before we rest again" Vorik replies.

"Agreed, Ensign. Let us proceed."

Tuvok steps out boldly and acts as if he belongs strolling in the midst of the borg. Vorik naturally follows his lead. Within moments though, four drones stop what they're doing and close in, restraining them effectively. "It would appear that the reports on borg behavior are out-of-date" Vorik comments.

"Indeed!" comes Tuvok's reply. "This type of behaviour has only been noted on one prior occasion. When the android Lore discovered a cube severed from the rest of the collective."

Another drone approaches them, clearly female. "I am Seven of Nine, tertiary adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One. State your designation!"

Tuvok stares impassively at her. "I am Tuvok, this is Vorik" he says, gesturing to his companion. "We were brought to this world against our will and will depart peacefully. We are of no threat to you" he adds.

"This planet's environment is hostile to our cybernetic implants. We need shelter and technology to re-establish our link with the collective. You will assist us." Seven of Nine speaks as if she's merely instructing another couple of drones.

"We have no technology that would be useful to you" Vorik comments.

"Irrelevant. You will assist us, resistance is futile!" Seven of Nine turns her head in the slightest manner to regard Vorik. "You will assist in our repairs of the remaining regeneration chambers. If you prove of no use as individuals, then you will be assimilated." She turns to the other drones. "Take these Vulcans to the encampment and have them start on units four and seven."

With the order, the two male drones holding Tuvok and Vorik lead them towards the main part of their group. Once there, the Vulcans witness an interesting sight. While half of the drones are busy working, tending the power generaters and other equipment, the others are engaging in non-productive pursuits - games, small-talk. Seven of Nine pauses as she enters the area and with a quick scan determines that two more drones have stopped working and appear to have joined those that are re-embracing their individuality. With a look that could almost be called disgust, she walks away.  
  
  


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